Melitele,
I have failed you.
Forgive me.
These men were after Ciri.
My weapons?
I need to find her.
You need to let me take care of your wound.
Hmm.
How did it break?
She does that to things.
If what you say about that girl's power is true,
you can't help her.
Ah, I'll find my own weapons.
What I mean is,
Ciri needs more than you can give her now.
I swore to protect her!
Nenneke,
I will not sit back and wait
for something worse than a rogue mage and his agenda to happen to her.
Do you believe Yennefer means to harm the girl?
I wish Yennefer knew of the balance you spoke of.
More than you know, I wish it.
But I learned my lesson about Yennefer and wishes.
Sometimes, we assume the worst
because we fear to hope.
How… can I help you?
I need you to open a portal.
Zola.
You've been here before?
The woman who lives here, she took me in. She was kind to me.
The dream,
when I first heard your name,
was in this house.
Same day Geralt found me.
That's why the portal took us here. It felt safe.
Should I try again? Get us back to Geralt?
No. That was impressive, but no.
-Let's keep our insides on the inside.
-Where are they now? -They must have left.
The battle at Sodden was close. Maybe they fled.
-Maybe.
Fire fucker.
Come on.
No.
I left months ago.
Nobody knew I was here. Nobody.
Nobody even knows I'm alive.
Except…
Do you think he works for Nilfgaard?
What if he's got Geralt?
Geralt's strong.
He'll have held his own.
You don't sound sure, Yennefer.
If Nilfgaard's got him, if…
they'll have kept Geralt alive to help track you down.
-They'll hold him to lure you there. -Where?
Their nearest outpost.
Cintra.
I've fantasized about going back.
Finding the Black Knight and shoving my sword through his throat
until his feathers are soaked in blood.
Geralt wouldn't want me to go.
He'd want me to avoid danger.
Geralt will hold out as long as he can.
We must go to Cintra. Together.
Yennefer, wait!
You've seen what happens to people who try to help me.
I have to go alone.
Ciri, I'm not leaving your side.
If anything were to happen to you, Geralt would never forgive me.
We must hurry.
That's right.
Bring her.
Chaos will be yours.
You have far too many clothes on.
Come back to bed.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
You're my partner.
You can tell me if something's wrong.
Our new position of authority means new responsibilities.
I don't want to burden you.
Our new position of authority doesn't change the fact that I love you.
Your pain is my pain.
We have an unexpected visitor.
Hmm. Who?
Dijkstra.
Redania must be up to something.
How can you be sure that Redania has implanted a spy?
Because it's what I would have done.
First it was elves, then half-breeds.
Now spouses, sympathizers,
pouring through our gates daily, virtually unchecked.
A gift-wrapped opportunity courtesy of you.
We need to rebuild our army.
Yes. I agree.
But let's do it wisely.
If we bring outsiders into the fold, we must ensure their allegiance.
Half of the elves did not muster for training this morning.
The celebration of the child's birth went late into the night.
Oh, grand. We're larding up with pointies
who can't hold their drink or can't follow orders.
-I will talk to them. -You are not their commander.
She should remember that.
-Fringilla, he's right.
The generals, they know this is unsustainable,
and Emhyr arrives tomorrow.
I will not have him met with chaos and insubordination.
I said
I will handle it.
All this talk of loyalty. Why is it the generals I am doubting the most?
Should I count you among them, Cahir?
Everything I do is in service of the White Flame.
And what do you think I'm doing?
Fringilla!
If I were against you, do you really think I would be telling you all of this?
What would you have me do?
If the elves refuse to serve, let me deal with them.
The generals will respect a strong hand.
So will Emhyr.
You attempted to breach the castle gates.
I-- I was looking for food.
I'm no spy.
-Are you going to do it? Or I? -Please!
I was just looking for something to eat!
-I've done nothing wrong.
-Please, my lady! -For fuck's sake.
Show mercy--
And you call yourself a leader?
All together now!
-Thank you! Thank you-- -Sing another word,
and I'll cut your tongue out!
Rude.
Guys, your harmonies were a little pitchy.
Gordon, you're amazing.
Talent recognizes talent. Let's go again. Three, four…
-That's it! I'm taking a shit.
Fucking hell! You know what? We're trying to rehearse in here!
Gentlemen, I am so sorry. Give me a moment.
I need to deal with this guard's complete lack of decorum.
Good sir, you would not know talent if I shoved it up your… Geralt.
Fuck it.
I've missed you too.
-What are you doing here? -No time. We need to go.
-Are you sure? -Yes.
Last time we saw each other, you basically told me to fuck off.
Remember? And you left me on a mountain.
Have you seen these boots?
I mean, I pretty much just slid
all the way down that hill back to Caingorn.
-Jaskier-- -Don't fucking Jaskier me.
I'm talking to you. This is how this works.
I need your help.
Fine.
But first…
Gentlemen, it's been an honor.
What? I made new friends. Get over it.
Jealous.
These horses are no good to us dead.
The longer this takes, the more time I have
-to think about what they're doing to him. -You two seem to have quite the bond.
I mean, he's a grump of the first order,
has the social graces of a wild boar, but he's…
He's your protector.
He's the father I never had.
When I'm with him, I don't feel alone anymore.
I know what you mean.
What…
what was between you and Geralt?
Longing,
regret,
hope, and fear.
I don't think I've omitted anything.
So, you love him too.
Let's go.
I always loved the name Ceinwen.
-Sh, sh, sh.
Absolutely not.
I had a cousin named Ceinwen.
-She ate her own hair.
She's a Fiona.
Elegant.
Or Liserne.
Powerful and brave.
-Sh, sh. Come-- come here. -Thank you, Dara.
-Ohh… -Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh…
Liserne is pretty.
With such a wonderful distraction,
I trust you're unaware that your fighters failed to show this morning.
-I heard. -Well, then I trust
you will make sure it never happens again.
One day is a hangover,
two is sedition.
-Many of us have had a change of heart. -Then you change it back.
I never intended to fight for Nilfgaard.
Francesca convinced me,
but now she has given me a far better reason
-not to fight.
It's time for us to rebuild.
To grow strong again.
Have you forgotten who brought that child into the world?
-Who made Cintra safe for the elves? -We're grateful.
It's time for us now to add to our numbers,
not to die in someone else's war.
Our war is your war.
Fringilla, as a friend, I must ask,
are these your words or Cahir's?
Francesca…
The bargain we struck in that hut,
it is working.
You have your baby…
and I have Emhyr's favor.
It can all stay this way
if…
our bond remains strong.
As I said, we are friends.
I value the bond we have.
But family,
blood,
that's the only bond that can't be broken, and that's the one I must protect.
I thought you'd want to hear the news right away.
It's even worse than I feared.
Not just an elven baby, but one born to a mage.
Only you could see a threat where everyone else sees a baby.
Not all of us have your soft spot for elves, Tissaia.
She's a co-chair on this council. She doesn't have soft spots.
Well, you'd know.
Besides, it's not just a baby. It's a-- it's a symbol. A beacon.
Not to mention a potential enemy who'll live for centuries…
Who is currently aligned with our other enemy.
We could be tangled in a war again before we know it.
Unlike your tenure, Artorius,
we no longer act on unfounded prejudice and rumors.
Which is why I find it so very hard to believe
that you came here simply to share gossip.
Well, in my line of work,
today's gossip is next month's news.
For instance, I heard that one of your former students has returned.
Foltest's mage?
Triss Merigold, is it?
Triss is here?
She fell ill in Temeria
and has come here to recover.
Oh. Mmm.
Yes, there are tales of many a strange stomach ailment this spring.
All of them coming from up in the mountains, though.
Give her my best.
Oh, I will.
As long as you give King Vizimir ours
for this distracting information about the baby.
Will there be anything else,
Dijkstra?
As soon as Cirilla disappeared, I knew my chance had passed so I fled.
Fled?
I was aided, of course.
I didn't have the time nor strength left to open a portal myself.
Yes, well…
he hasn't been here in days.
He said he'd come.
-And you said I'd get to meet him.
If you brought the girl.
This is on you.
Or it's on you.
Perhaps you don't have as much sway with him as you imagined.
No, it's part of his plan.
The theatrics.
The distraction.
Fine, you little lunatic, you can have it.
Go on, run your damn test.
If it works, your master will be here in an instant, I assure you.
Do you think?
Blood tracing is simple.
Mages have been practicing it for centuries.
Though, I admit,
my test subjects are normally…
Dead.
-Precisely.
Oh, blessed nectar.
I have not washed in quite some time,
and I'm beginning to smell like a Nilfgaardian's ballsack.
So if you'll excuse me, hold this.
I have been looking forward to this!
God, it's cold!
Whew!
Whew, you could hang portraits off my nipples right now.
You're the expert. How do you get blood out?
What was Yennefer doing in Oxenfurt?
-Well, she was saving my life. -What?
Yeah, I know. I'm as surprised as you are,
seeing as I trust her about as far as I could wring her stringy, weird neck,
but it's true.
She risked her life for me.
I always knew there was some deeper feeling for me
beneath all that rage and… hair.
-She's got a lot of hair, that woman. -What was her angle?
Not an attractive one.
She was on the run. She'd lost her magic.
She was almost tolerable.
-She lost her magic? -Yeah, I know!
It was great!
Unless she was lying.
Only just realizing now she might have been lying.
Fuck! Oh, Jaskier, you moron!
Because if she wasn't lying,
then how did she magically disappear into thin air
when she was imprisoned in the whorehouse?
Tell me exactly what happened in Oxenfurt.
When the Redanian guards grabbed her,
she muttered something about forests,
and mothers, and huts,
and then she just sort of disappeared,
-so-- -"Turn your back to the forest, hut, hut"?
"Turn your front to me, hut, hut." Yeah, that's what she said.
She's in league with the Deathless Mother.
Well, she sounds like a hoot.
Who is the Deathless Mother, Geralt?
Voleth Meir.
The first witchers were hired to imprison her.
They entombed her in her hut.
But someone's gone and opened up the door.
That someone being…
-She wouldn't. She would.
What? Sacrifice your Child Surprise to get her magic back?
You bet your bloated biceps she would.
Voleth Meir is a demon that feeds on pain.
We need to go to Cintra.
-Why? What's in Cintra?
Oh!
Someone really didn't like my shirt!
Yarpen Zigrin.
Your aim's gone to shit.
And if it isn't the White fuckin' Wolf and the big fuckin' mouth.
Put your weapons down, numpty arseholes.
This is an old friend.
Uh, friends. Plural.
-Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount-- -Yeah!
I know.
Right, yeah.
What are you doin' out here in the middle of east bloody nowhere, you warlock?
I could ask you the same question.
Aren't you supposed to be the lord of a vassal state in Caingorn?
Ach.
Lording's for peacocks and pissants.
We run the roads for Henselt now. Protect his convoys.
Pays better.
-You remember my men. -Of course. Good to see you all again.
I have absolutely no recollection of any of these people.
-Wanker.
Where's Lucas Corto?
-He owes me money. -You've got a good memory.
Lucas Corto got married, settled down in Mahakam,
and dropped out of the company, the stupid oaf.
You ain't looking to join a crew yourself?
Be happy to have you as our sixth. Even if you do smell like shite.
I can't right now, Yarpen.
And I need a horse. I'll, uh…
pay you double with interest once I find some coin.
Normally, I'd tell you to shit twice and die,
but we're on the Trail, and you never refuse help on the Trail.
This mount's too big for us lot, anyway.
What's the mission, if you don't mind me asking?
I do.
The secret kind.
My favorite.
You're not my usual type.
But you'll do.
Come on, boys! The king can wait.
We're goin' on an adventure!
The bridge is out.
Where else can we cross?
It's half a day's ride. We don't have time.
We'll have to leave the horses behind. But there is a way.
Lesson number two.
Let's see what your Chaos can do.
You can either be too strong to fail or too weak to try.
You can do this, Ciri.
I believe in you.
Repeat after me.
That's it! Now repeat.
Don't strain. Trust your power to do the work.
That's enough.
I can do it.
-We'll find another route.
-You're going to hurt yourself!
Ciri, stop! Stop!
Fuck! Fuck!
-Fuck!
Well, that's one way of doing it.
I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened.
When you have power like this,
never apologize.
Do you hear them?
It's wood thrush, calling to each other.
When I first went to court, I was so homesick for that sound.
You used to put seeds on your sill when you were younger.
Tried to catch them for pets. Succeeded once.
I didn't know whose neck you'd wring first, mine or the bird's.
When you were called away, I didn't realize what you'd be doing.
You should know
I saw Cirilla of Cintra at Sodden.
What?
She was there with the white-haired witcher.
I didn't know who she was, but now, of course, it makes sense.
-They were looking for-- -Yennefer.
Yes.
They believed she was dead.
The information you told me about Ciri,
about what you saw when you performed the Dol Durza,
who else knows?
The other witchers and you.
I don't trust anyone else.
Triss!
No, no, I said I would call you when she was ready.
I need to know everything about the girl. Now.
You told him.
This knowledge, it cannot be ours alone. There is too much at stake.
Look, this is important.
I need you to tell me everything, Triss.
Triss.
She wasn't ready.
This is why I didn't want to tell you.
This isn't a game, Tissaia.
If what she says is true,
this child has the potential to end all war.
Forever.
Unless she falls into the wrong hands.
And if that happens, the consequences will be ours to own.
Well, damn the consequences.
Because I made a promise to Triss,
and I will not continue to put my girls at risk unnecessarily.
I wouldn't ask you to if it wasn't necessary!
I have always considered you my equal partner.
My most trusted confidante.
I wish I could prove to you
that I'm worthy of the same.
You dare show your face here.
After lying to the conclave and attacking us at Sodden!
My portal has no doubt set off alarms.
-I don't have much time. -So get on with it.
What water does Nilfgaard want you to carry for them this time?
I'm not here for them.
Or as a mage.
Just as your niece.
I may need to leave Nilfgaard.
And quickly.
What's changed?
An emperor arriving tomorrow with great expectations I--
I brought in the elves to fight for us, but they… have had a change of heart.
So the elven birth has helped our cause, not threatened it.
Tissaia was right.
-I care not for the Brotherhood's polit-- -And yet I do.
Triss Merigold returns suddenly, without explanation.
-Do you know anything about that? -No.
Uncle,
you are my blood.
And that is a bond that is stronger than all others.
Please.
I'm asking you for help.
For once, will you give it?
I should have stood up for you that night at the ball in Aretuza.
I'm sorry.
Let's be honest. Whatever is brewing out there,
the Brotherhood needs reinforcements in here.
If you were to return,
you'd need to plead your case.
Apologize, as well.
For aligning with Nilfgaard?
Of course.
For believing that you could have any impact there at all, my dear.
There are those who are obsessed with finding power,
and those who know their place.
You know which one you are, thank gods.
You wouldn't have come back here if you didn't.
Of course I'm nervous.
As a child, I watched Cintran soldiers murder my kind.
Now I'm watching Nilfgaard do the same.
Only now I'm complicit.
They're looking for me.
-Elves are dying because I'm here. Spying.
But it's more than that.
Last night,
seeing my people sing and dance,
seeing the baby in her mother's arms…
I don't care about Redania.
Or Cirilla of Cintra.
They can have each other.
From here on out,
I want to focus on keeping that elven hope alive.
Tell Dijkstra I'm done.
I've had my doubts about Fringilla all along.
Emhyr letting a mage give us orders? Nah.
The White Flame will take one look at this disaster and reset the table.
If her head's still on her shoulders by morning, I'll be shocked.
You're falling behind.
What's the matter?
We're supposed to be on the same side.
Searching for Princess Cirilla.
She's alive.
I know it.
And we'll find her.
As soon as we unload Fringilla's dead weight.
If we don't, all our heads will be on the ch--
I have so much resentment for my Aretuzan training
that I forget…
-there were bright spots.
Botany, for example.
Where else could I have learned the paralytic qualities of nightshade?
Or how to mask it in a glass of mead?
My most valuable lesson, though…
…came on my last night there.
When Yennefer of Vengerberg
stole the seat of Aedirn to which I was entitled.
And that taught me
whenever a lesser light tries to steal what is yours…
…you do not sit there and take it.
Your power…
seize it.
You must do…
…whatever…
is required…
Not as a meek sycophant…
…sycophant…
…to hold on…
to what you've earned.
How did it come to this, Cahir?
I may never know
if you were planning to overthrow me or not.
But one thing I do know.
I am never going back to that dungeon.
-I would much rather…
…put this knife in my own eye
and end it all.
Emhyr needs to hear of the treachery I just uncovered.
And he needs the general that he trusts most
to tell him I was justified.
So when he arrives tomorrow…
rave.
Hmm.
Our little spy Dara has had a change of heart.
We have all the information we need.
The girl gives you the rightful claim to Cintra.
That makes Redania the most powerful kingdom on the Continent.
Or Nilfgaard, if they get her first.
What about Aretuza?
Didn't you go there for…
-something? -Hmm.
There are some… unknown variables in Aretuza.
Tissaia knows of the girl's existence. I'm certain.
But she keeps the information very close to her chest.
Even from Vilgefortz,
whom she helped install and, uh… obviously cares for.
-Who? -The new leader of the Brotherhood.
How long that will last is anybody's guess.
Tissaia acts detached,
but she lets relationships cloud her judgment.
Stregobor will take advantage of that. If I were a betting man--
If…
you were a betting man, you'd be betting with my money.
I pay you to solve problems, Dijkstra,
not fill my head with piling bad news.
Not bad news, my lord.
Bedlam.
And if our goal is to destabilize the Continent,
bedlam is good news.
Yes, well, let's hope so, for your sake, Dijkstra.
Trust me, your Highness.
Elven spy or not, we are in a strong position.
And I have many more irons in the fire.
-Go on! Go on!
Look, I understand
that what's-her-demon wants to eat your Child Surprise and all,
and I'm happy to help save her,
but you never even wanted this child in the first place, and now…
now it's like she has turned your entire world upside down.
I guess…
what I'm really asking you is…
is this what pleases you?
I thought ignoring Ciri's existence would make everything better.
I was wrong.
What about Yennefer?
If she's hurt Ciri, I may just have to kill her.
Oh, no, well, obviously we'll kill her. We'll definitely kill her.
I just haven't found a good enough jabbing stick yet.
But what if she's changed too?
People do stupid things when they think they're trapped in a corner, Geralt.
And they say stupid things.
That's what friends do.
They come back.
This is different.
And I'm sorry, Jaskier.
Gah, you are always so emotional!
I mean, it's just yap, yap, yap with you sometimes.
"Oh, Jaskier, I'm so sad and complicated!"
-Shut up, Jaskier. -You shut up.
That's a perfect impression of you, by the way.
How can it look the same
when everyone I've known is gone?
There was a monolith there.
The blackest stellacite.
What happened to it?
Me.
You did that?
Ci-- Ciri…
promise me something, if we get separated.
Remember what you have.
Magic.
It's lodged in you. Like a spiked arrow.
It wounds you. Deeply.
But it's a strange sort of pain.
Combined with…
bliss.
Trust me.
It's all you'll ever need.
It's everything.
I want to believe you.
I really do, but…
when you had magic,
you controlled the Chaos.
But it controls me.
No one's been able to teach me how to use it.
And…
I'm afraid, Yennefer.
So close…
Do what you have to do to seize your destiny.
Deliver me to the shattered black door.
Destiny.
-Your destiny.
If you're afraid, turn back… …back, back…
That door mustn't be opened. You know that.
I do.
But you're still leading me there.
If you're afraid, turn back. You still--
You still have time to turn back. It's not too late.
And you?
For me, it is… it is…
…no choice… I had no choice…
My Chaos… I thought… I thought I had to…
I'm so sorry, Ciri.
Don't go.
I didn't know who you were.
I didn't know what you were to him.
I need to get to him.
He's not here!
He never was.
That mage at Melitele's,
he knew you.
No.
You led him to us.
No.
We were in trouble and needed help, and you betrayed us!
I was stupid.
And I was selfish!
You have to come with me.
Now!
I don't trust you.
Sound the alarm!
Get to the horses.
Get to the horses now!
There they are!
Get the girl!
-Looks like you lost your horse!
Come here!
Yennefer!
Oh, we got a fighter!
-Little brat!
Get hold of her!
Come on, Bard!
Right in his fuckin' nose!
In the kneecaps!
Come here, you little--
Stop it. Stay down!
Hey!
How could you do this?
I'm so sorry.
Yarpen and his men will get you out of here.
Jaskier, take her to Kaer Morhen.
Ciri knows the way.
No. No, I'm staying with you.
You can't.
Why? Where are you going?
To slay a monster.
I'll be with you soon, I promise.
All right.
The Child Surprise, I've heard so much a--
Like father, like daughter.
The girl.
Yours?
Mine.
Mine, Zigrin.
Say it.
Behold the mother of forests…
Bah! Bah!
…the Deathless Mother,
nesting in dreams.
Turn your back to the forest, hut, hut.
Turn your front to me.
Hut. Hut.
Oh, no…
She's gone.
It's always worked.
The first witchers imprisoned her in this hut for eternity.
She shouldn't be able to escape.
Unless…
What?
Unless she's had her fill
of pain and desperation.
It would have given her new life.
To do what?