Season of Storms Summary: Geralt’s Gripping Hunt for Stolen Swords
The narrative follows Geralt of Rivia as he loses his signature swords and navigates political schemes, sorcerous plots, and a natural disaster in the coastal kingdom of Kerack.
Readers looking for a quick overview can start with the TL;DR section below.
TL;DR: A Witcher Without His Swords
Geralt of Rivia loses his steel and silver swords in the kingdom of Kerack.
A false arrest, a theft, and a chain of sorcerous and political events keep him from reclaiming them for most of the novel.
- Geralt is stripped of his swords after a false arrest and a theft at the Kerack guardhouse.
- The sorceress Coral pays his bail but proves to be both ally and manipulator.
- A crime boss forces Geralt to fight a mutated vigilosaur barehanded for auction information.
- The young sorcerer Sorel Degerlund fakes demonic massacres to advance his career at Rissberg Castle.
- Yennefer secretly buys back Geralt’s swords at a Novigrad auction.
- A tsunami destroys much of Kerack after King Belohun is murdered at his wedding.
Season of Storms Summary: The Swordless Hunt Through Kerack
Spoiler warning: The full story including the ending is recounted below.
The narrative of Season of Storms opens in the forest of Ansegis, where Geralt of Rivia tracks and kills a mutated arachnomorph predator called an idr.
He saves a mother and young daughter, but a lingering guilt follows him because he used them as bait. Shortly after, he refuses a corrupt bribe from district reeve Albert Smulka and sets off for the coastal kingdom of Kerack.
Andrzej Sapkowski places Kerack at the mouth of the River Adalatte, divided into three distinct zones. On the right bank lies Palmyra, a stinking slum of laborers and dangerous dens.
On the left bank sits the industrial port complex. Further inland, behind a palisade of stakes, stands Kerack proper where wealthy merchants and financiers reside.
Upon entering the city, Geralt is forced to deposit his legendary steel and silver swords with the elderly clerk Gonschorek at the guardhouse. He receives a written receipt.
Shortly after, three men in black arrest him on false charges of crown embezzlement.
The anonymous informant is later revealed to be Lytta Neyd, a red-haired sorceress known as Coral. After his release on bail, Geralt discovers Gonschorek is dead and the swords have been stolen using a forged receipt signed “Gerland of Ryblia.”
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A violent brawl with the flatulent guardswomen ensues before Dandelion and royal instigator Ferrant de Lettenhove break it up.
Geralt confronts Coral at her Upper Town villa. He discovers she has cruelly twisted her apprentice Mozaïk’s left hand backward at the wrist as punishment. A passionate affair begins between Geralt and Coral.
Through a ceraunoscopy divination in Coral’s fountain, Geralt sees his swords heading to a Novigrad auction and a distinctive rock called the Gryphon.
The Gryphon leads Geralt and Dandelion to Ravelin, the stronghold of crime boss Pyral Pratt. Pratt forces Geralt to fight a mutated vigilosaur barehanded in his arena to learn the auction details.
After Geralt kills the creature, Pratt reveals the auction date: July fifteenth in Novigrad.
As they leave Ravelin, Prince Egmund captures Geralt. The prince hires him to protect King Belohun from assassination during the upcoming wedding of Lughnasadh.
In exchange, Egmund promises to dismiss the court case and help recover the swords.
Coral directs Geralt to Rissberg Castle, seat of Grandmaster Ortolan.
Senior sorcerers Pinety and Tzara reveal that someone at Rissberg has been practicing goetia, invoking demons to massacre forest settlements in the Tukaj Hills. During a patrol with Constable Frans Torquil, Geralt discovers a fresh massacre at Pinetops.
The young sorcerer Sorel Degerlund lies unconscious nearby, claiming demonic possession. It is a trap. Degerlund teleports Geralt to his secret Citadel lair using a sigil tattooed on his chest.
He reveals there is no demon; he is a psychopath who used mutated giant ogre-trolls to fake goetic mastery and advance his career.
Degerlund paralyzes Geralt with white scorpion venom. But the witcher’s mutations neutralize the poison.
With help from the werewolf Otto Dussart, Geralt kills the ogre-trolls Bue and Bang and then strangles Degerlund to death, breaking his larynx and cervical vertebrae.
Rushing toward Novigrad to catch the auction deadline, Geralt boards the cutter Prophet Lebioda.
An aguara, a she-fox whose cub was kidnapped and murdered by a passenger, traps the ship in a swampy labyrinth of illusions. After a bloody mutiny and monster attacks, Geralt returns the dead cub to the aguara, who spares him and his surviving companions.
At the Novigrad auction, Yennefer of Vengerberg secretly purchases Geralt’s swords through the dwarf banker Molnar Giancardi for four thousand crowns.
She also curses the thief Nikefor Muus, turning his stolen gold into stinking dung when he tries to spend it.
Back in Kerack, King Belohun is strangled to death by a magically contracting dolphin medallion at his wedding. Prince Viraxas arrives with mercenaries to seize the throne.
A catastrophic tsunami strikes the city. Geralt and Mozaïk rescue drowning children, but Antea Derris is crushed and dies.
Twelve days later, Geralt and Dandelion ride toward Vizima.
At a roadside inn, the rogue witcher Brehen challenges Geralt. Tiziana Frevi arrives to deliver Geralt’s original swords from Yennefer, forcing Brehen to retreat. After a magical farewell from the aguara, Geralt and Dandelion ride on.
In the Epilogue, over a century later, a young girl named Nimue is saved from an idr by a white-haired witcher. The witcher claims Geralt died long ago.
The Season of Storms narrative closes with Nimue wondering if it was all a beautiful, endless illusion.
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Summary by Chapter: The Witcher’s Journey in Six Movements
Spoiler warning: The chapter summary below includes key plot developments.
The Trap in Kerack (Chapters 1–4)
Geralt slays a mutated idr in the forest of Ansegis, then faces corruption from reeve Albert Smulka. Journeying to Kerack, he deposits his steel and silver swords at the guardhouse under Gonschorek’s care.
He is abruptly arrested on false embezzlement charges due to an anonymous tip-off by the sorceress Coral. After his release on bail, Geralt discovers Gonschorek is dead and his swords have been stolen, leading to a chaotic brawl with the guardswomen.
Love, Divination, and the Arena (Chapters 5–8)
Geralt confronts Coral at her villa and falls into a passionate love affair with her. She agrees to heal Mozaïk’s twisted hand. Through ceraunoscopy divination, Coral reveals the swords are headed to a Novigrad auction and points toward the Gryphon rock.
This brings Geralt and Dandelion to Ravelin, where crime boss Pyral Pratt forces Geralt to fight a mutated vigilosaur barehanded in an arena. After winning, Prince Egmund intercepts Geralt and hires him to protect King Belohun from assassination.
The Dark Secrets of Rissberg Castle (Chapters 9–11)
Coral directs Geralt to Rissberg Castle, the seat of Grandmaster Ortolan and a hub for advanced genetic research. Sorcerers Pinety and Tzara secretly hire Geralt to hunt an “energumen” responsible for massacring three forest settlements in the Tukaj Hills.
While patrolling with Constable Frans Torquil, Geralt catches the young sorcerer Sorel Degerlund at a fresh massacre in Pinetops. Degerlund, who was faking demonic possession to advance his career, teleports Geralt to his secret Citadel lair.
Escape and the Swamp Illusions (Chapters 12–15)
Geralt’s witcher mutations neutralize the scorpion venom. He defeats Degerlund’s minions Bue and Bang with the help of the werewolf Otto Dussart, then strangles Degerlund to death. Fleeing toward Novigrad, Geralt boards the cutter Prophet Lebioda.
The ship is trapped in a deadly swamp by the illusions of an aguara whose cub was killed by a passenger. After a bloody mutiny, Geralt returns the dead cub and is spared, escaping the marsh.
The Auction and the Royal Bloodbath (Chapters 16–18)
In Novigrad, Geralt’s swords are sold at the Borsody auction to Molnar Giancardi, who secretly buys them on behalf of Yennefer.
Yennefer punishes the thief Nikefor Muus by turning his gold into dung. Geralt returns to Kerack and attends King Belohun’s wedding.
The king is strangled by a magically contracting medallion. A coup ensues as Prince Viraxas seizes power with mercenaries, and Geralt slays conspirators to save Dandelion’s life.
The Tsunami, the Rogue Witcher, and the Farewell (Chapters 19–20 & Epilogue)
A massive tsunami strikes Kerack, destroying Palmyra and the cliffside villas. Geralt and Mozaïk rescue drowning children, though Antea Derris is killed.
At a roadside inn, the rogue witcher Brehen challenges Geralt, but Tiziana Frevi arrives with his original swords from Yennefer.
After a magical farewell from the aguara, the story shifts over a century into the future, where a young Nimue is saved by a white-haired witcher who claims Geralt is long dead.
Characters in Season of Storms
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Geralt of Rivia | A mutated professional monster hunter who spends the novel recovering his stolen swords. |
| Dandelion | Geralt’s loyal companion and a famous bard who aids him throughout the journey. |
| Lytta Neyd (Coral) | A powerful red-haired sorceress who orchestrates Geralt’s arrest, then pays his bail and begins an affair with him. |
| Mozaïk | Coral’s young apprentice who becomes infatuated with Geralt and is cruelly punished by Coral. |
| King Belohun | The greedy first-generation king of Kerack who is murdered at his own wedding by a cursed medallion. |
| Prince Egmund | Belohun’s calculating son who hires Geralt to protect the king while harboring his own ambitions. |
| Prince Viraxas | Belohun’s banished eldest son who returns with mercenaries to seize the throne. |
| Albert Smulka | The corrupt district reeve of Ansegis who tries to force Geralt to sign an inflated invoice. |
| Sorel Degerlund | An arrogant psychopathic Rissberg sorcerer who orchestrates massacres to fake goetic powers. |
| Grandmaster Ortolan | The oldest living sorcerer and head of Rissberg Castle who coddles and defends Degerlund. |
| Pinety (Algernon Guincamp) | A senior Rissberg sorcerer who assists Geralt and gives him a genuine Viroledian sword. |
| Harlan Tzara | A shaven-headed Rissberg sorcerer who is murdered and preserved in a jar by Degerlund. |
| Otto Dussart | A werewolf whom Geralt spared years ago and who later helps him enter the Citadel. |
| Yennefer of Vengerberg | Geralt’s estranged lover who secretly purchases his stolen swords and returns them. |
| Brehen (the Cat of Iello) | A rogue unstable witcher from the School of the Cat who challenges Geralt at a roadside inn. |
| Tiziana Frevi | A young journeyman witch who delivers Geralt’s original swords from Yennefer. |
| Antea Derris | Pyral Pratt’s daughter who helps sell Geralt’s stolen swords but later dies during the tsunami. |
| Nimue | A young girl from Vyrva who, over a century in the future, is saved from an idr by a white-haired witcher. |
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Andrzej Sapkowski: The Mind Behind Geralt
Andrzej Sapkowski is a Polish fantasy author born in 1948 in Łódź. He debuted with the short story “The Witcher” in 1986, launching what would become a nine-book saga centered on Geralt of Rivia.
His work has been translated into dozens of languages and has won numerous literary awards, including the David Gemmell Legend Award and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
The Witcher books also inspired the acclaimed video game series and a Netflix adaptation.
You can find more of Andrzej Sapkowski’s book summaries on URSummary.
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