Kaer Morhen hadn't seen this much life within her walls in decades. When Juray had returned, Letho, Stormrider, Kiera, Zoltan, Roche, and Ves were already there. Mere moments after she arrived, a portal brought Triss. Within a week, Erimon, Hjalmar, and two of his friends had arrived from Skellige. But Juray still felt that 20 or so people would not be enough against the army that was the Wild Hunt, even if eight of them were Witchers and four were powerful mages. After the Islanders' arrival, Yennefer had taken to pacing the walls, watching for Geralt and Ciri. Aiden had immediately busied himself making repairs to swords and armor, while Stormrider and Kyran made potions and bombs that they could use against the Hunt.

Juray found Vesemir at the stables with the horses, brushing down one.

"She still up there?" Juray asked as she approached them.

"Like a sailor's wife looking for her man to return," he answered, glancing up as Yennefer was pacing the wall overlooking the path to the keep.

"Staring into the wilderness..." Juray trailed off, suddenly sensing magic that was vaguely familiar.

Vesemir looked over at her. "Juray?"

Juray turned toward the gates just as a greenish glow appeared. A moment later, Geralt and Ciri seemed to materialize out of thin air. Juray hadn't seen Ciri since she was a teenager, but immediately knew the beautiful young woman with Geralt was his daughter. Ciri laughed as she looked around, a smile coming over Geralt's face. Ciri spun around, almost as if she were deciding which place she wanted to go first. Then she spotted Vesemir and Juray. She gave a giggle and ran toward them, jumping into Vesemir's arms. He hugged her, spinning her around like he used to when she was a girl and she laughed. She then gave Juray a tight hug, the Witcher returning it just as tightly.

"Welcome back, child...," Vesemir said.

Yennefer noticed they had arrived via different means. "Ciri!" she cried. She ran toward her daughter, engulfing her in a hug. She pulled away and held her face in her hands. "My, you've grown beautiful." Yennefer had tears in her eyes and she embraced Ciri once more.

Juray and Vesemir joined Geralt as he looked on with a smile on his face.

"Was expecting a different arrival," Juray said.

"There were complications."

"No point standing around," Vesemir said. "Come on, time to greet the others."

Ciri looked over the four of them. "You've not changed a bit. Any of you... All just like I remembered."

Yennefer looked up at Geralt.

"What?"

Yennefer kissed Geralt as Triss ran over.

"Little sis!" she said, embracing Ciri.

"They're all here," Vesemir said. "Everyone you asked for help. Juray managed to find a couple of Witchers willing to help as well. Avallac'h's resting in the tower – still in pretty bad shape. No reason to do it out here. Come inside."

Vesemir headed toward the castle, Ciri falling in step with him. Juray smiled as she watched them leave, starting to follow until she realized that the others hadn't moved.

"Time's short. Wild Hunt'll be here soon."

"I— Maybe I'll give you two a moment," Triss said.

"Triss, please...," Yennefer said.

"No, no. You must've missed each other terribly. A minute's delay won't hurt anyone."

"Fine," Geralt said. "So a minute, then we go, all right?"

Triss walked over to where Juray was standing.

"You alright?" the Witcher asked.

"I... It still hurts, you know."

"I know."

"When Gavin harbored you in Novigrad, what did you feel seeing him again?"

"Oddly enough, I felt nothing. But I hadn't seen him in decades. Geralt broke things off not even a year ago. But you can't spend the rest of your life pining over him."

Triss looked at Juray.

"Is Geralt worth losing a friendship over?"

Triss looked back at the two as they kissed again. "Maybe you're right."

Yennefer and Geralt joined them and they headed up to the keep.

"Yen, you know the Wild Hunt better than anyone else," Triss said as they walked. "Tell us about the magic they use."

"Their navigators open portals, rifts that we might counter with dimeritium or our own magic. They also summon the frost that occupies the voids through which they travel."

"There's just not enough of us. It'll be a hard fight."

"I couldn't agree more," Juray said. "I'll gather the others and let them know we're meeting."

Everyone gathered in the common area of the keep. Roche, Ves, Hjalmar, and Vigi stood to Geralt's right. Folan was sitting on a crate. Juray, Aiden, and Vesemir sat at the right side of the table, Eskel standing behind Juray. Zoltan, Stormrider, Kyran, and Letho sat on the stairs. Ciri was seated at the end of the table, Yennefer and Lambert on the left. Erimon, Kiera, and Triss stood at Geralt's left.

"Thank you for coming," Geralt said, looking everyone over. "The Wild Hunt'll be here soon. They're coming for Ciri, want to take her. We'll stop them."

"How do you even know the Hunt'll show?" Lambert asked.

"They always know where I teleport to," Ciri explained. "And they move from place to place in an instant."

"So what's our plan?" Stormrider asked.

"There aren't many of us, but I'd trust any of you with my life." He looked at Stormrider and Kyran. "Even you two. Work together, and we'll defeat the Hunt. When they attack, Yen'll dome the fortress with a magic shield. Hunt'll be forced to land outside the walls."

"If they're dispersed out in the woods," Lambert said. "We could hunt down small groups of riders."

Geralt motioned to Lambert. "Got our first volunteer for the hunting party. I'm the second."

"Count me in, too," Letho said. "Always believed attack was the best defense."

"I'll go with you, too," Stormrider said.

Geralt nodded.

"The Hunt will try to penetrate into the fortress through navigator portals," Yennefer said. "I can do nothing against this kind of magic, so you'll need to find and close as many as you can while hunting in the woods."

"Stormrider and Kyran made dimeritium bombs, among other things," Juray said. "Assuming their magic will be suppressed the same as any other with it."

"Excellent. Yrden should work on the portals as well. I shall also give you each an amulet. Snap them in half and you'll become invisible, at least while you remain still or move slowly. Move abruptly, engage any foes, clash with them, and they will see you. Apart from that, they will be able to hear and smell you. If you come across a large unit, do not attack. Signal Triss and she will provide support."

"I'll look for your signal," Triss said. "Soon as I see it, I'll rain fire on the forest."

"Remember," Geralt reminded them. "There's only a few of us. We have to help each other, work together. If anything goes wrong and the Hunt puts us on the defensive, we pull back, make a stand at the gates of the fortress. The inner courtyard is our last line of defense. If we don't stop them there, we're doomed. Ciri's most important in all of this. The Hunt's after her, and we have to defend her at all costs."

"What do I do?" Ciri asked.

"Stay inside the keep," Yennefer said. "Aiden will be with you, but if they break through, come inside, we'll all converge to help the two of you."

"Out of the question," Ciri said. "I can look after myself."

"No one doubts that, child," Vesemir said. "But remember the most important moment when hunting a monster?"

"'Wait for an opportunity.'" Aiden and Ciri said at the same time, although Ciri's response sounded dejected.

Vesemir gave a small smirk and looked at Juray, who was trying to hide her smile.

"After the council," Triss said. "I'll give you an amulet, Ciri. If you use it, a ball of fire will land where you're standing. Just in case."

"What else do we have that we can use?" Geralt asked.

"Since you plan to ambush the Hunt in the woods," Roche said. "I could dig some trapping pits. Blue Stripes style."

"Meaning?" Vesemir asked.

"Deep as the dark abyss," Ves explained. "Bottoms bristling with sharpened stakes."

"And since none of us wear heavy armor," Juray said. "None of us will be hurt by these traps." She was well aware of how Blue Stripes pit traps worked.

"I brought this Mahamakam mix," Zoltan said. "Flammable as bone dry saltpeter and ploughin' sticks to anythin'. We fill some barrels, stack 'em in a narrow passage, and fire 'em up at an opportune moment."

"Do you know we stand on a vast deposit of gas?" Erimon asked. "If need be, I could open cracks in the earth, create explosions. I would need to prepare, though."

"There's a laboratory," Vesemir reminded Geralt. "And the workshop."

"One thing to remember," Eskel said. "We've got limited resources and even less time. We oughta decide what kind of weaponry'll be most useful against the Hunt."

"Absolutely. We need to assign one type of weaponry each to the lab and workshop."

"Who needs access to the lab?" Geralt asked.

"I started brewing some potions. Like to finish if you don't mind."

"I could prepare more of those Witchers' traps," Eskel said. "But I'd need all the lab equipment."

"Stormrider and Kyran busied themselves as soon as they got here with them Witcher potions," Hjalmar said. "Traps might be best to focus on."

"Stormrider? Kyran?"

"He's right," Kyran said. "We have enough potions to keep us going, but only the Witchers will be able to use them. The traps are what we need."

Geralt nodded in agreement. "There aren't many of us, so we'll need to prepare as many traps as possible. What about the workshop?"

"Been wanting to fix that breach in the wall," Vesemir said. "But we'll need the same tools to clear the rubble from the armory."

"Rubble?"

"Haven't you heard? Roof caved in a couple years back. There's some excellent swords in there. Swords we could use."

"Filling in the breach seems just as important," Lambert said. "They come through there, the siege'll be over awfully quick." He looked at Aiden. "Besides, Aiden's been making extra weapons and armor and repairing what we have. On top of bringing along some top-quality weapons."

"Lambert's right," Geralt agreed. "Fixing the breach in the wall's a priority. Aiden's a master smith. We've been trusting his weapons and armor for years."

"We won't have much time to do much else," Vesemir said.

"Good thing we've been preparing for the last couple weeks," Juray said.

"Let's sum up," Vesemir stood. "Yennefer will create a magic barrier to repel the main assault. That should push the opposing force into the woods. Where Stormrider, Lambert, Geralt, and Letho'll be waiting. They'll use dimeritium to close the navigator's portals, stop as many warriors as possible from entering the fortress. Triss'll be waiting for their signal, then give the riders hell. All others will repel any foes who make it inside the fortress walls."

"If anything goes wrong, we abandon the outer courtyard, pull back to the keep. Remember – Eredin can't get his hands on Ciri. That's most important. Let's look at the map of the fortress, figure out the details."

They gathered around the map to determine where everyone could best use their strengths and talents.

A few hours later, Lambert found Geralt overlooking the map.

"Can't help feeling we've overlooked something important..."

"Don't think about it."

"What's ready?"

"Haven't had much time to prepare, so not much, honestly."

"I'm exposing you all to danger. Unnecessarily."

"You worry too much. Wipe that frown off your face. We'll make it."

Geralt was glad for once that Lambert had such arrogant confidence. "Thanks. For everything."

"I'll saddle the horses. Come once you're ready to head into the woods."

"Takin' Letho with us."

"You know my opinion. Rather have a couple Witchers I don't know rather than him at my back." Lambert turned and headed out. "Oh, you might want to talk to Ciri before we go. She's in a great mood."

Geralt shook his head. Ciri had helped with the last-minute preparations as much as she could before Juray sent her and Aiden back into the keep. They all suspected that the Hunt was close enough that she could sense them.

"She was the only thing that made me feel safe," Aiden was telling Ciri. She had asked how Juray came about adopting him. "She'd come in there and killed this huge monster. My birth mom had bled to death and I was scared and I didn't know what exactly was going on. But something told me that she was safe. That she would protect me. She found me the next morning curled up next to her."

"Why didn't she bring you here?"

"I asked her that once. She told me she thought I deserved to live a normal life, to be a child. Uncle Angelo had a house build for us and an aunt watched over me while Mum was on the Path. Mum and Eskel taught me everything they knew. But I'll always remember the look in her eye the day I left with her."

"Did you know Juray was a Child Surprise?"

Aiden shook his head.

"Her family didn't want her, threw her at James to be rid of her. I think she was reminded of that day when she adopted you."

"I'll be forever grateful that she did. I don't know what I would have become if she hadn't."

Geralt joined them at that moment. "Got a minute?"

"Oh. Serious talking coming," Ciri said.

"Need me to go?" Aiden asked.

"No. Stay."

"I won't let them take you, you know that?"

"I know."

"You gotta keep clear, stay out of trouble." He looked at Aiden. "Both of you."

"Don't treat me like a child!" Ciri said.

"Didn't even do that when you were one."

Ciri looked up at Geralt. "I like it when you smile."

Geralt gave her a small one.

"Come here." She hugged Geralt and he returned the embrace. "Everything will be all right." Ciri stepped back.

"Stay out of the fighting as much as you can, Aiden. Your mother will kill me if the two of you get hurt."

"I'd be more worried about her killing me since I insisted on coming."

Ciri snorted a laugh.

"I have faith we'll get through this. We have to."

"You are definitely Juray's kid."

Aiden laughed and Geralt put his hand on both their shoulders.

"Just be careful."

"Yes, Uncle Geralt."

"Don't do that."

Geralt stopped at the doors to the keep before turning back. Ciri and Aiden looked over at him before Geralt turned away and walked outside, shutting the door behind him. Yennefer was on the topmost tower. Eskel was in the inner courtyard, tasked with defending it and keeping the doors shut until they needed to retreat to it. Vesemir and most of the others were in the outer courtyard or on the walls. Lambert, Letho, and Stormrider waited by the horses. Juray could feel their presence and the air temperature suddenly dropped as the wind picked up.

"They're here," Juray said.

Down in the courtyard, Geralt joined the others.

"It's starting," he said. "Woods! Now!"

The Witchers galloped out of the keep as Yennefer began her spell. A gale-force wind began to blow and Juray threw up Quen, encasing her and Triss in a shield. The other Witchers were doing the same, although Roche and Ves ended up tumbling into a wall. Hjalmar, Vigi, and Folan braced themselves, already used to frosty gales. Kiera and Erimon used magic to shield themselves.

Inside the keep, Ciri jumped to her feet upon hearing the gale.

"What is that?" Aiden asked.

"The harbinger of the Wild Hunt," Ciri answered. She looked at her sword, which she had laid against a bench, before looking at Aiden. "Juray and Eskel taught you how to fight, right?"

"Obviously. That's why I'm in here with you." He paused, realizing why Ciri was asking. "No, we were told to stay in here."

"Do you always do what your mother tells you?" She walked over and picked up her sword, strapping it in place. "They're going to need everyone."

"You're going to be the death of me."

Outside, Yennefer expanded her spell, encasing the entire keep, and the mountain behind it, in a shield, successfully blocking the winds assaulting them.

"So it begins," Juray said.