Chapter Summaries

Lynn visited Professor Sigismund Gloger at Oxenfurt University to investigate the disappearance of student Myshelle Sabina Lucks. After questioning the last person who saw her, Marco Gedel, Lynn caught Gloger trying to suppress a detail and pressed him to disclose everything.

• Lynn entered Oxenfurt University and found Professor Gloger's office after asking students for directions.
• Professor Gloger doubted that Lynn was a real witcher because he looked young, but agreed to let him investigate Myshelle Sabina Lucks's disappearance.
• Lynn learned that Marco Gedel was the last person to see Myshelle and questioned him about their meeting in the dining hall.
• Marco began to say they had discussed Etteiel, but Gloger coughed to stop him and challenged the relevance of the conversation.
• Lynn compared Gloger's concealment to tying a tightrope performer's hands and feet, and Gloger conceded while asking for one favor.

Lynn questioned Marco about the disappearance of Myshelle, an Oxenfurt University student, and agreed to investigate for Professor Gloger. After following Marco home, Lynn learned that Myshelle had a boyfriend, Gottfried, despite the university’s ban on student relationships.

• Lynn promised to keep Marco’s account of their research into the legendary treasure of Maelor secret, and Marco recounted his argument with Myshelle before she disappeared.
• Marco said he had noticed no unusual behavior from Myshelle, but his evasive remark about Gottfried caught Lynn’s attention.
• Professor Gloger told Lynn that Myshelle rented a house near the harbor and offered him a hundred crowns if he returned her safe and unharmed.
• After Marco left the university, Lynn followed him home and pressed him to reveal what he had withheld from Gloger.
• Marco admitted that Myshelle’s boyfriend was Gottfried and asked Lynn to keep the relationship secret so she would not be expelled.

Lynn investigated the disappearance of Myshelle and learned that a muscular worker may have lured her away. After questioning her ex-boyfriend and the repair workers, he began tracing the people involved at Oxenfurt’s harbor.

• Marco told Lynn that Myshelle had disappeared after a handsome, muscular worker arrived to repair a university building, and that her family owned a lumberyard and house in Novigrad.
• Lynn inspected Myshelle’s rented house and found muddy tracks showing that someone had entered through a window, but no signs of a struggle.
• Lynn found Gottfried drinking in a tavern and used Axii to make him reveal the locations of Myshelle’s family home and lumberyard.
• Lynn went to Oxenfurt’s harbor, found the workers who had repaired the university building, and used wine to get them talking.

Lynn learned that Vlasg had spoken of taking back what workers deserved from the rich, and he suspected Vlasg had kidnapped Myshelle. He tracked the bandits to her family’s lumberyard, where Vlasg was holding Master Ruxe, his wife, and their student daughter hostage.

• Lynn questioned the harbor workers about Vlasg, who had criticized the rich and asked an older worker to join him in taking back what they deserved.
• Lynn rode Nidhogg from Oxenfurt toward Novigrad after concluding Vlasg had targeted Myshelle.
• Lynn approached the lumberyard at night, climbed over its wall, and found it occupied by armed bandits.
• Vlasg taunted Master Ruxe about his wealth, then kicked him down as Ruxe begged him to spare his family.

Lynn arrived at Ruxe’s lumberyard and rejected Vlasg’s attempt to recruit him into robbing the family. As Vlasg secretly signaled his accomplices, Lynn prepared to fight and activated his Quen Shield.

• Vlasg beat Ruxe and accused him of exploiting the poor while Myshelle pleaded for him to stop.
• Lynn entered the lumberyard, and the bandits hesitated to attack the mutant with two swords.
• Vlasg offered Lynn a share of Ruxe’s wealth, but Ruxe begged Lynn to save his family.
• Lynn refused to join the bandits and challenged them to slit their own throats.
• Vlasg secretly signaled his accomplices while talking to stall, and Lynn raised his Quen Shield and kicked the table upright.

Lynn rescued Myshelle’s parents and sister from the Greenwood Brotherhood’s logging camp, killing the bandits and questioning their leader. He left the family safe for now but warned them to burn the bodies and clean the blood to keep necrophages away.

• Lynn fought through the bandits, killing them with his sword and Igni before knocking out their leader, Vlasg.
• Lynn identified himself as a witcher sent by Professor Gloger and freed Myshelle’s family from their ropes.
• Lynn used Axii to make Vlasg reveal that the entire Greenwood Brotherhood was at the camp, then forced him to stab himself to death.
• Lynn returned downstairs dragging two corpses and told Ruxe’s family to burn the bodies and clean the blood to prevent necrophages from gathering.

Lynn helped Ruxe and his family escape the Greenwood Brotherhood, escorted them safely to Novigrad, and received payment for completing the commission. After delivering Ruxe’s letter to Professor Gloger, Lynn collected another hundred crowns and reflected on how wealthy he had become.

• Lynn burned the bandits’ bodies and agreed to escort Ruxe, his wife, and Myshelle to Novigrad.
• Ruxe’s family traveled through the dangerous night with Lynn and took shelter at the guard post outside Novigrad’s closed gates.
• Ruxe explained how Vlasg had deceived Myshelle and lured her parents into the Greenwood Brotherhood’s ambush.
• At dawn, Lynn entered Novigrad with the family and received three hundred crowns and a letter from Ruxe.
• Lynn delivered Ruxe’s letter to Professor Gloger, who paid him one hundred crowns for completing the commission.

After Ruxe invited Lynn to dinner, he asked him to take a contract for his friend Vimme Vivaldi, whose newly purchased house was haunted. Lynn agreed and met Vimme at the bank, where the dwarf doubted that someone so young could handle ghosts.

• Lynn returned to Novigrad after leaving Oxenfurt University and completed several minor contracts.
• Ruxe invited Lynn to his home, where Ruxe's wife apologized for her earlier rudeness and Ruxe later explained that his friend Vimme needed a witcher.
• Ruxe told Lynn that Vimme had bought a haunted house, and the previous owner could not be held responsible because Whoreson Junior's men had killed him.
• Lynn accepted the contract, valuing both the payment and the chance to build ties with a banker.
• At the Vivaldi Bank, Vimme met Lynn and warned him that fighting ghosts was far more dangerous than dealing with bandits.

Lynn accepted Vimme Vivaldi’s contract to investigate a haunted villa in Novigrad, then questioned the neighbors and found that none had witnessed anything unusual. After preparing himself and entering the villa, he was met by a sudden violent shaking of the house.

• Lynn agreed to clear the haunted house for Vimme Vivaldi for two hundred crowns and won twenty crowns from him playing Gwent.
• Lynn inspected the villa and questioned nearby residents, who said they had heard rumors of a haunting but had witnessed no signs of one.
• Lynn cast a master-level Quen Shield, drank several potions, and entered the villa.
• The ground shook violently as Lynn stepped inside, and the chandelier rattled overhead.

Lynn investigated unexplained tremors in a villa and found a golem trapped behind a hidden basement wall. The magical barrier holding it was weakening, leaving Lynn facing the prospect of the golem breaking free.

• Lynn searched the shaking villa after confirming his medallion did not react and found no ghosts or other obvious causes.
• Lynn spotted salt by the basement stairs and followed cracks in a basement wall to a hidden passage.
• Lynn used Aard to break through the wall and discovered a cavern containing a golem confined by a flickering magical barrier.
• Lynn recognized the construct as a golem and recalled their origins, abilities, and ways to defeat them.

Lynn prepared potions, Elementa Oil, and Dimeritium Bombs before confronting the golem trapped in the cave. After freeing itself from the magical cage, the golem fought back, but Lynn repeatedly targeted its right leg and continued the battle.

• Lynn gathered his supplies, set Dimeritium Bombs around the magical cage, and bought a pickaxe to fight the golem.
• Lynn meditated until the cage weakened, then drank his potions and coated the pickaxe with Elementa Oil.
• When the cage vanished, Lynn detonated the bombs, immobilizing the golem and letting him damage its right leg.
• The golem recovered and attacked, but Lynn dodged its punch, endured its spinning charge with Quen, and threw another Dimeritium Bomb.
• Lynn leaped over the toppled golem as it crashed into the cave wall, then struck the wound on its right leg again.

Lynn defeated the golem imprisoned beneath the house and collected its valuable stone heart. He reported the danger to Vimme Vivaldi, received his payment, and left the stone heart and specter dust with Vimme’s auction house to sell.

• Lynn gouged the stone heart from the defeated golem after spending bombs and earning experience from the fight.
• Lynn went to Vivaldi Bank after his potion toxicity subsided and told Vimme the house was safe once the cavern was cleaned and sealed.
• Vimme paid Lynn the agreed two hundred crowns and praised his work.
• Lynn asked Vimme to estimate the value of the Red Miasmal’s specter dust and the golem’s stone heart.
• Vimme estimated the dust could sell for seventy or eighty crowns and the stone heart for over three hundred, then agreed to auction both for a ten-percent commission.

After settling in Novigrad, Lynn gained Professor Gloger’s permission to use an Oxenfurt University alchemy room for one day. He raised his alchemy skill to its limit, gained the Mutation Enhancement talent, and successfully brewed Superior Petri’s Philter.

• Lynn settled at an inn in Novigrad’s upper district and enjoyed a peaceful week.
• Lynn visited Oxenfurt University and persuaded Professor Gloger to vouch for him so he could use an alchemy room for one day.
• Lynn spent all five attribute points to raise Alchemy to Master/Limit and gained the Mutation Enhancement talent.
• Lynn absorbed new alchemical memories that let him make superior potions, blade oils, and bombs.
• Lynn used the ingredients he had prepared to brew Superior Petri’s Philter.

Lynn tested Superior Petri's Philter in the wilderness and discovered that it greatly amplified his Signs. Back in Novigrad, Vimme invited him to the bank and, after treating him lavishly, prepared to explain what he wanted.

• Lynn brewed Superior Petri's Philter, packed it into bottles, and left Oxenfurt to test it away from the crowds.
• Lynn drank the potion and used Igni, scorching a tree with a powerful blast of flame.
• Lynn rode Nidhogg back to Novigrad, where a dwarf summoned him to Vivaldi Bank on Vimme's behalf.
• Vimme welcomed Lynn with tobacco, Est Est, and Mahakam spirits, then began to explain why he had sought him out.

Lynn learned that Triss Merigold, Temeria’s royal adviser, had summoned him after he dealt with her haunted house. He met her there, where she welcomed him and used magic to pour them drinks.

• Vimme told Lynn that Triss Merigold wanted to see him about something.
• Lynn left the Vivaldi Bank and went to the house that he had cleared of its haunting.
• Triss answered the door and invited Lynn inside.
• Triss led Lynn to a sitting room and magically poured them both drinks.
• Lynn and Triss toasted to each other’s health.

Lynn met with Triss, a royal adviser to Temeria, and recognized that her presence in Novigrad was not part of a plan to seize the city. Triss hired him to investigate disappearances, but when she mentioned Brokilon Forest, Lynn warned that he might have to decline.

• Triss questioned Lynn about his age and experience, and he admitted that he had only recently completed the witcher trials.
• Lynn identified Triss as Temeria’s royal adviser and argued that a king seeking control of Novigrad would send a spymaster instead.
• Triss revealed that she wanted to hire Lynn to investigate a series of disappearances.
• Triss asked whether Lynn knew Brokilon, and he described the dangerous forest and its dryad inhabitants.
• Lynn suspected the disappearances had happened in Brokilon and said he would regretfully decline if that was the case.

Triss explained to Lynn why Kerack’s merchants were trying to open a route through Brokilon’s northern forest, where every caravan and search party had vanished. Lynn agreed to investigate for at least four hundred crowns, and Triss weighed the higher price.

• Triss described the northern forest’s borders and the route Kerack’s merchants hoped to open along the Adalatte River.
• Triss told Lynn that no merchant or soldier who entered the northern forest had returned, and explained that Kerack’s royal family supported the risky route for its profits.
• Lynn inferred that Kerack had hired Triss because ordinary troops could not handle the danger and she needed a witcher’s help.
• Lynn accepted the contract and demanded at least four hundred crowns for the preparations and risks.
• Triss considered Lynn’s price higher than expected but judged his protection worth the expense.

Lynn learned about magical transmutation from Triss and prepared for their contract before traveling with her through a portal to Kerack. The journey left him nauseated on the docks, where he paused to recover.

• Triss agreed to Lynn's contract for four hundred crowns and demonstrated an enchanted handbag with an Extension Charm.
• Triss explained the eight schools of magic and described how transmutation spells could alter space and time.
• Lynn stocked up on alchemical ingredients and commissioned a mastercrafted silver sword from Éibhear Hattori in Novigrad.
• Three days later, Lynn met Triss and traveled with her through a portal to Kerack.
• Lynn sat on the docks feeling sick from the portal journey while Triss checked if he was all right.

Lynn and Triss arrived in Kerack and met the knight Ser Waymar Royce, caravan leader Tyrion, and bard Marillion, who would join their journey toward Temeria. Two days later, Ser Royce outlined their route through Brokilon to Velen and asked Lynn what dangers might await them in the forest.

• Lynn and Triss stepped through a portal onto Kerack's docks, where Ser Waymar Royce, Tyrion, and Marillion greeted them.
• Triss explained that Ser Royce would lead ten men, while Tyrion's caravan would provide a barge and supplies for the journey.
• Lynn questioned Marillion about traveling overland, and Marillion declared his ambition to surpass Dandelion and write poems about Lynn.
• Two days later, Ser Royce showed Lynn and Triss a map and said they would leave the barge at the source of the Adalatte River.
• Ser Royce explained that they would cross Brokilon's northern forests before reaching Temeria's province of Velen, then asked Lynn what they might encounter in the forest.

Lynn warned Tyrion, Marillion, and Ser Royce about the dangerous monsters they might encounter in the forest, describing their abilities and the threat they posed. Triss explained that witchers’ centuries of sacrifices had reduced the monsters’ numbers, leaving the others with new respect for Lynn.

• When Ser Royce asked how dangerous the forest monsters were, Lynn said Endregas and Kikimores hunted in swarms like bison-sized ants, while Arachases concealed themselves and attacked with venom and pincers.
• Lynn described Nekkers as dangerous in groups and explained how Leshens commanded beasts and plants, while Fiends could kill knights with their strength and hypnotize prey with a third eye.
• Lynn explained that Archespores hid among plants and attacked with powerful leaves and corrosive acid, then warned that the forest might contain other monsters as well.
• Tyrion asked whether the monsters were real, and Marillion marveled that humanity had survived among them.
• Triss said monsters were now far fewer because witchers had hunted them for centuries, prompting Tyrion, Marillion, and Ser Royce to regard Lynn with respect.