Chapter Summaries

Lynn stopped an assassination attempt on Fringilla by activating the magic in the elven statues and killing the attackers. He explained how the statues were enchanted, gave Fringilla the dagger carrying the demonic power behind the Duchess's coma, and left to visit Orianna.

• Lynn reenacted the elven surrender ceremony, awakening Tivethas's enchanted statues, and used a Yrden Trap to slow the assassins as he killed them.
• Fringilla burned the final assassin with a fireball and demanded to know why Lynn had not warned her.
• Lynn gave Fringilla the dagger bearing the demonic power that had kept the Duchess unconscious, allowing her to claim credit for the discovery.
• Lynn explained how Tivethas had enchanted his soldiers as statues and how the Duchess's reenactment of the surrender ceremony had activated them.
• Lynn left the palace for Orianna's Beauclair residence, having given Fringilla credit to ease her jealousy and bring her closer to his plans.

Lynn learned that Letho, a fellow witcher, had taken Orianna’s contract to rescue an elven master smith from Beauclair’s sewers. After finding Letho wounded underground, Lynn gave him a powerful healing potion, and Letho agreed to work with him and offer him most of the reward.

• Lynn asked Orianna about the anonymous witcher who had accepted her contract, and she said he had not returned from the sewers.
• Lynn spent three days exploring Beauclair’s sewers, killing Nekkers and discovering their traps.
• Lynn encountered Letho in the sewers and learned that Letho had come specifically to find him.
• Lynn gave the wounded Letho a Superior White Raffard’s Decoction, which eased his injuries.
• Letho agreed to work with Lynn, offered him seventy percent of the contract reward, and asked why Lynn had come looking for him.

Lynn offered Letho and the other surviving Viper witchers steady pay and expenses, but Letho remained wary of his motives. After learning that a vast Nekker pack might guard the elven grandmaster blacksmith, Lynn and Letho prepared to face it and advanced toward its nest.

• Lynn offered Letho, Serrit, Auckes, and other Viper witchers three hundred Orens a month, plus reimbursement for equipment and alchemical supplies.
• Letho hesitated because he distrusted Lynn’s wealth and feared the witchers might be hired as assassins, so he postponed his answer until they left the sewers.
• Letho told Lynn that more than fifty Nekkers guarded the last unexplored area, where the elven grandmaster blacksmith might be, and warned that a Nekker Chief could be among them.
• Lynn shared food and water with Letho, and the two ate and meditated before heading toward the Nekker nest.
• Near the nest, Lynn coated his silver sword with Ogroid Oil and laid out potions and bombs, impressing Letho with his resources.
• After their potions took effect, Lynn and Letho exchanged a glance and crept toward the Nekker nest.

Lynn and Letho used alchemical bombs, Igni, and their swords to defeat a large Nekker nest in the sewers. They killed the Nekker chieftain and the surviving monsters, leaving the nest cleared.

• Lynn shot the Nekker sentry with his Kovir longbow, and he and Letho crept up to the nest entrance.
• Letho threw three Superior Dragon's Dream Bombs into the nest, and Lynn ignited them with a concentrated jet of Igni while Letho shielded them both with Quen.
• The explosion killed at least ten Nekkers and badly burned many more, but the survivors charged the witchers.
• Lynn tossed two alchemical bombs that froze many Nekkers, then charged through the ice sculptures with Letho close behind.
• Lynn and Letho killed the remaining Nekkers, including the tall Nekker chieftain.

Lynn and Letho cleared the Nekker nest, recovered mutagens, and rescued the elven grandmaster smith Tyensail. They left the sewers with Tyensail, who promised to craft them armor at his shop in Beauclair.

• Lynn and Letho found the Nekker nest destroyed, and Lynn collected four mutagens from the corpses.
• Lynn and Letho discovered Nekker embryos and Tyensail trapped in a wooden cage deep inside the nest.
• Lynn freed Tyensail, and Letho helped him out of the cage while Lynn burned the embryos with Igni.
• Lynn and Letho brought Tyensail out of the sewers, and Tyensail promised to make each witcher a set of tailored armor at his Beauclair shop.
• Lynn asked Tyensail if they could use the shower at his shop, and Tyensail invited them to follow him.

Lynn returned to Orianna with Letho, collected his payment, and told Letho how he had saved the duchess with the Holy Grail. After Letho confronted him over suspicions that he worked for Nilfgaard, Lynn denied taking their money and revealed his dream of changing the continent and the way witchers were treated.

• Lynn and Letho visited Orianna, who paid Lynn extra after he confirmed Tyensail had returned safely to his armor shop.
• Letho offered to find Lynn a room, and Lynn revealed he was staying at the palace and had cured Duchess Caroberta with the Holy Grail.
• Lynn showed Letho the Holy Grail and refused to sell it, then renewed his offer for Letho and his brothers to work for him.
• Letho accused Lynn of possibly serving Nilfgaard and offered him a choice between pretending they had never met or fighting.
• Lynn denied taking Nilfgaardian gold, and Letho began to believe him and asked what he was trying to accomplish.
• Lynn declared his dream of witchers earning respect, Kaedwen becoming free and just, and people being judged by their character.

Lynn tried to persuade Tyensail to leave Beauclair for the north by warning that an elven assassin’s attack on Duchess Caroberta would soon provoke anti-nonhuman violence in Toussaint. Tyensail reacted with fear, but the chapter ended before he answered Lynn’s warning.

• Lynn secured Letho’s agreement to travel north, though Letho warned that he and the others would leave if Lynn failed to deliver what he promised.
• Lynn visited Tyensail’s armor shop and asked the elven smith what he thought of the north and whether he would give up his life in Beauclair to start over there.
• Tyensail rejected the idea, saying he was established in Beauclair and had no reason to leave.
• Lynn told Tyensail that he had recovered the sacred chalice that healed Duchess Caroberta, and revealed that an elf had attacked her.
• Lynn warned that human-supremacist racists would use the attack to justify violence against nonhumans, including killing Tyensail and looting his shop.

Lynn persuaded Tyensail to leave Toussaint for Novigrad and promised to help him establish a smithy there. After securing the grandmaster smith’s cooperation, Lynn planned to seek out another higher vampire in Beauclair, but a commotion interrupted him on the way.

• Lynn warned Tyensail that the attempted assassination of Duchess Caroberta could lead to violence against nonhumans throughout Toussaint.
• Lynn described Novigrad and King Vizimir as a safer place for nonhumans, then offered to help Tyensail find a smithy, join the guild, and avoid harassment.
• Tyensail agreed to leave Toussaint with Lynn after Lynn told him when they would depart.
• Lynn considered the benefits of recruiting Tyensail and planned to approach another higher vampire who ran a toy shop in Beauclair.
• A sudden commotion in an alley caught Lynn’s attention before he reached the toy shop.

Lynn stopped a merchant from cutting in line and had the Ducal Guard arrest him after they recognized Lynn as the witcher who had brought back the Holy Grail. The man in black thanked Lynn and led him to his toy shop, where they went up to a dim attic to talk.

• A merchant shoved the man in black aside to take his place at the shoeshiner, and Lynn threw the merchant to the ground.
• The merchant called for the Ducal Guard, but the guards recognized Lynn and listened as he explained that the merchant had cut in line and insulted the man in black.
• The guards took the merchant to jail to relearn Toussaint's virtues, and Lynn let the man in black have his shoes shined first.
• The man in black thanked Lynn and invited him to his shop, where they climbed to the attic.

Lynn met Dettlaff van der Eretein in his gloomy toy shop and invited him and the girl doll he cared for to visit Novigrad with Regis. After learning Dettlaff’s identity, Lynn recalled how the higher vampire’s innocence would lead to terrible bloodshed more than twenty years later.

• Lynn criticized the toy shop’s gloomy decor and suggested adding windows, changing Dettlaff’s clothes, and selling knight-themed toys.
• Dettlaff asked Lynn how he dealt with monsters, and Lynn said he preferred talking to those capable of conversation.
• Lynn noticed a finely made doll dressed as a wolf and learned that she dressed that way to live peacefully among animals without hurting them.
• Lynn invited the girl doll to join him and Regis in Novigrad, and Dettlaff accepted the invitation on her behalf and gave Lynn the doll.
• After leaving the shop, Lynn recognized Dettlaff’s name and recalled that he would later cause hundreds of deaths, despite having once secretly killed the Beast of Lyria to avenge a child.

Lynn and Geralt took a contract from Earl Raymond to hunt Toussaint’s bandits, and Lynn set out with Geralt after stocking up on supplies. At the Cockatrice Inn, a bandit gang had seized the bridge-side inn, and its sentries spotted the approaching witchers.

• Lynn refused Earl Raymond’s offer of Ducal Guard reinforcements and asked for a bounty for each bandit head.
• Earl Raymond promised Lynn one Florin per head, and Lynn bought potions and alchemical bombs in Beauclair.
• Lynn and Geralt left Beauclair the next day and headed north toward the Cockatrice Inn.
• Bandits complained that taking over the inn had brought them no victims and discussed sneaking away before the knights-errant returned.
• A bandit spotted Lynn and Geralt approaching the bridge and told the others to fetch the gang.

Lynn and Geralt fought the bandits who tried to extort them at the bridge. Lynn killed the bandit leader and the crossbowmen, while Geralt engaged the other attackers.

• The bandit leader demanded ten Florins per person, then ordered the crossbowmen to fire before Lynn and Geralt could answer.
• Lynn dodged the bolts and charged the bandits as Geralt engaged two of them.
• Lynn killed one bandit, then ran along the bridge railing and killed the three crossbowmen as they tried to reload.
• The bandit leader attacked Lynn with two swords, but Lynn parried his strikes and knocked him off balance.
• Lynn feinted, struck the bandit leader's swords aside, and killed him with an upward slash.

Lynn and Geralt exterminated Toussaint’s bandit gangs, then returned to Beauclair to claim their bounty and meet the awakened Duchess Caroberta. Fringilla gave Lynn a rare Glamarye that changed his appearance and continued working even near dimeritium, leaving him to join the duchess with the gift.

• Lynn and Geralt killed the bandits at the Cockatrice Inn, collected their heads, and burned the inn staff’s bodies.
• Lynn and Geralt swept through Toussaint’s bandit gangs using ambushes, alchemical bombs, and poison, killing more than three hundred bandits over a month.
• Lynn and Geralt returned to Beauclair with a wagon of bandit heads and learned that Duchess Caroberta had awakened and wanted to see them.
• Fringilla stopped Lynn, gave him a shield-shaped Glamarye, and showed him that it changed his face and resisted dimeritium.
• Fringilla insisted that Lynn keep the Glamarye, then sent him back to meet Duchess Caroberta.

Lynn explained to Duchess Caroberta that granting a territory to two witchers could provoke public outrage and draw political trouble to Toussaint. He hinted that he had a plan, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

• Duchess Caroberta offered Lynn and Geralt Castel Ravello Vineyard as a reward for saving her and restoring safety to the duchy.
• Lynn realized Fringilla had given him the amulet of deception because she anticipated the offer of a territory.
• Lynn warned Duchess Caroberta that people might resent witchers as lords and that the controversy could implicate her.
• Duchess Caroberta recognized the political risks and asked Lynn whether he had a solution or would prefer a sack of gold.
• Geralt signaled Lynn to avoid political entanglements, but Lynn reassured him and began to propose his idea.

Lynn persuaded Duchess Caroberta to make Castel Ravello Vineyard the prize for the knights' tournament, planning to win it under a false identity. He prepared for the competition and learned its events, while Geralt refused to take part in Lynn's political plan.

• Duchess Caroberta agreed to offer Castel Ravello Vineyard as the tournament's champion's prize, and Lynn said he would accept defeat as the Lady of the Lake's will.
• After leaving court, Geralt objected to Lynn's plan but chose not to get involved, and the two parted ways in Beauclair.
• Lynn disguised himself with Glamarye and bought pitch-black plate armor from Tyensail's shop.
• Lynn returned to court and asked Maksymilian about the tournament, learning that it featured archery, jousting, and a team competition whose winner would become champion.

Lynn trained with a retired Ducal Guard officer until he mastered riding, then entered the knights' tournament in Beauclair under the name Brandon. He registered as a commoner with no family crest, and the clerk accepted his entry.

• Lynn learned that Maksymilian planned to compete for Castel Ravello Vineyard, his family's ancestral estate, and chose not to ask him for riding lessons.
• Lynn asked Fringilla to find him a riding instructor, and she arranged lessons with a retired Ducal Guard officer.
• After half a month of practice, Lynn gained Riding (beginner) and spent all his attribute points to raise it to Riding (master/limit).
• Lynn returned to Beauclair, changed his appearance with the Glamarye, and waited in line to register for the knights' tournament.
• Lynn registered under the name Brandon without a family crest, and the clerk confirmed that commoners could enter if they supplied their own weapons and steed.

Lynn registered for the knights' tournament under a false identity, learned its rules, and swore to uphold the Five Chivalric Virtues in the name of the Lady of the Lake. On the tournament's opening day, he reached the archery range and saw Geralt and Regis watching from the stands.

• The clerk explained the archery, jousting, team competition, prize, and oath to Lynn, who learned the champion would receive Castel Ravello Vineyard and its surrounding land.
• Lynn swore in the name of the Lady of the Lake, completed his registration, and learned the tournament would begin in fourteen days outside Beauclair.
• Lynn stayed at the inn before traveling to the tournament grounds five days early, surveying the area and pitching his tent.
• A herald summoned Lynn to his first archery contest, where he faced a young man with a mohawk.
• Lynn noticed Geralt and Regis in the stands, and Geralt watched him with concern despite not recognizing him in disguise.

Lynn won the archery contest with a blisteringly fast series of shots, then declined nobles’ offers while waiting for the joust. He survived his first jousting pass against a courteous Nilfgaardian knight and turned his horse around for another charge.

• Lynn hit all his red targets before the mohawked commoner opponent had finished shooting, then warned him that a joust against him would have left him bedridden.
• Several nobles visited Lynn with increasingly tempting offers, but he politely refused because he wanted Castel Ravello Vineyard.
• The archery contest ended on the third day, eliminating a quarter of the contestants, and the joust began.
• Lynn learned that Maksymilian had lost two jousts and been eliminated before the team competition.
• Lynn charged against a Nilfgaardian knight, deflected his opponent’s lance with his shield, stayed in the saddle, and turned his horse for another pass.

Lynn reached the knights’ tournament final, where four hired mercenaries tried to gang up on him after Lord Doug secretly arranged to rig the match. Lynn defeated them all, winning the championship as Duchess Caroberta ordered Lord Doug arrested.

• Lynn won the jousting and team events, advancing to the final free-for-all against his four teammates.
• Duchess Caroberta noticed the contestants surrounding Lynn, and Fringilla identified their gold pendants as belonging to the Nilfgaard Merchants' Guild.
• Lord Doug confessed that he had hired the four mercenaries to eliminate the other contestants and win the manor and land.
• Duchess Caroberta denounced Lord Doug for corrupting the tournament and ordered guards to take him away.
• Lynn defeated all four opponents and stood unharmed as the crowd cheered.

Lynn was crowned a baron of Toussaint and granted Castel Ravello Vineyard and the surrounding land after winning the knights' tournament. A week later, he arrived at his estate, met his steward Sebastian, and inspected his new domain.

• Duchess Caroberta awarded Lynn a laurel wreath, named him a baron, and granted him Castel Ravello Vineyard and five thousand mu of land.
• A week later, Sebastian prepared to welcome Lynn to the estate and raised a banner bearing Lynn's direwolf coat of arms.
• Lynn arrived with Geralt and Regis, introduced them as honored guests, and asked Sebastian to show him the estate.
• Sebastian described the vineyard, its wine, and the three hundred freemen living on Lynn's land.
• Lynn rode through the villages with Sebastian, asked about the domain, and decided to entrust its management to him.