02x02 - Kaer Morhen

[bunniefuu]

[chickens clucking]

[door opens]

[Yennefer gasps]

Geralt!

- [sighs]
- I was only at the market, Yen.

I made more than a few pennies
thanks to your garden.

[chuckles]

I can't wait to grow old together.

You, me, and her.

The family we always dreamed of.

[gasps]

[voice whispering] That's a… very…

Pretty dream.

[voice fading] Pretty dream…

[baby crying]

[baby screaming]

Geralt!

[baby screaming]

Give her to me.

[crying]

She's ours.

- [horse neighing]
- [wheels rumbling]

- f*ck.
- [shivering]

[Fringilla murmurs] I don't want you…
[gasping]

[horse neighs]

[gasping] I said don't touch me.

- Wake up.
- [yelps]

Don't touch me!

[gasping]

[horse neighs]

We're moving away from Cintra.

f*ck.

Finally, an honest response.

- Ow!
- We're stuck here together.

Who knows,
maybe we'll be friends yet again.

We'll be saved.

I have faith.

Forget faith. We've got power.

[horse neighs]

[wheels stop]

[bolts rattling]

Keep them close.

Where are you taking us?

I'm a citizen of Nilfgaard.

The soldiers you k*lled
were also Nilfgaardians.

Istredd spoke of these.

They look like Aretuza.

Built by elves to honor the prophets.

You set fire to them in the early wars.

Better lost to history than humans.

[Yennefer] I've never seen so many elves.

[Filavandrel] I need to see her.

I come bearing gifts.

[Fringilla] What is this place?

You keep behind me.

You keep your mouths shut.

[chains rattle]

Nilfgaard's fight is with
the Northern Kingdoms, not with the elves.

Set us free,

- and we promise to grant you s...
- [whoosh]

[in Elder] You said gifts.

Hostages. Humans...

You should have hung their corpses nearby.

They can be of use.

These are human forests.

They're our forests.

This one was in dimeritium?

This one was a c*ptive of Nilfgaard.

I'm also an elf.

[in Elder] Is this how you treat your own?

Do you sing our songs?

Do you honor our elders?

Have you ever shed a tear
over anything elven?

You are no elf.

- String them up.
- We've been digging here for weeks.

Every day increases
the risk of being found.

You don't lead our people any more,
Filavandrel.

Or has the White Robed One
visited your dreams too?

I'm doing everything I can
to keep you safe.

Once we find what we're looking for,

we ship their heads back to Aretuza
as a reminder of elven glory.

[wind whistling]

[Roach snorts]

We're nearly there.

[Ciri] This is your home?

How many did you say there were?

I didn't.

Last I checked…

We were 20.

Now?

Maybe less.

You sure we're safe here?

[Geralt] Keep up.

[murmur of voices]

[laughter]

- Lambchop.
- [door slams]

[man] Here comes trouble!

Where the f*ck have you been?

We thought you got lost.

Or k*lled.

- Not yet.
- [man chuckles]

Sorry.

[laughs]

- Brother!
- So!

- He returns.
- Come here!

- Knew you'd make a f*ckin' entrance.
- He's back.

- Finally, brother.
- I knew it.

Wolf. You're home.

Finally.

- [Geralt] Vesemir.
- Huh?

Yeah.

I had to make a few stops.

Hmm.

[man] He's home!

Brother!

- [laughter]
- There's the man!

So, there I am, freezing my bollocks off
in the middle of a grain field

for the second straight night,

when the farmer's wife comes sneaking out
to tell me that I'm wasting my time.

It wasn't a mora
her husband saw leaving that room.

No.

It was the f*cking field hand!

[laughter]

Oh, and now she's wailing,
"Oh, what are we gonna do?"

"My husband won't pay you
if you don't deliver a mora head!"

[chuckles]

So I pulled out my sword and I said…

"Bet he'll pay double
for the field hand's."

[laughter]

Good old Lambchop.

She returned
with two horses and a fur rug.

Best job I had all year. [chuckles]

Each of your faces
is cause enough for celebration.

You're safe. You made it back.
You made it home.

- Aye.
- Hear, hear!

Here's to another winter, together.

Yeah.

- Well said.
- Aye.

To breath in our lungs.

Hear, hear!

To the brothers.

[men] The brothers.

To forgetting the f*cking Path!

For one f*cking night.

- Who's ready?
- [all] Eskel!

- [laughter]
- Eskel's back!

Are you all right?
You look like day-old sh*t.

You should see the other guy.

Hmm.

The bout lasted six hours.

I'd have got the fucker, too,

if hadn't lost my elixirs.

[scattered laughter]

Took her hand, though.

- What's that?
- Is that a leshy?

Is that a leshy?

- What is it?
- [Eskel] Walked like one.

Talked like one.

Sort of.

Sort of?

I haven't crossed a leshy in a while.

- Not in Kaedwen.
- [Eskel] Well, count yourselves lucky.

Unless you're aching for the sting
of one of their f*cking roots.

[men murmuring]

Fire through the heart
is the only thing that puts one down.

- Six hours in, that didn't occur to you?
- [scattered laughter]

[chuckles]

[Ciri laughs]

Who the hell are you?

[swallows]

Princess Cirilla of Cintra.

Pleasure to meet you.

[wind whistling]

[wood creaking]

[grunts]

[grunts]

When you told me
you called the Law of Surprise...

- [sighs]
- …I told you, "Big mistake."

[horse neighs]

You said you promised
you wouldn't claim the child.

I said, "Good. Still a big mistake."

- I had to save her.
- I know.

And you knew I would call you out on it.

Yeah.

You brought her here anyway.

[sighs]

[squeaking]

[rattling]

[door creaking]

[wind whistling]

[Vesemir] So you're telling me
she escaped Nilfgaard.

Survived the wholesale slaughter
of her kingdom.

How?

I asked.

- She lied.
- Hmm.

It's not like you to let it go.

Witchers watch for answers.

- I think you might've said that one.
- Oh, what was I thinking?

[both chuckle]

I brought her here so she'd be safe.

It's easier for me to protect her
within these walls.

- Long enough to watch for answers?
- Exactly. Learn who she is. What she is.

And how I can help her.

You say that…

But remember what happened the last time

witchers shoved their noses
into the dramas of courts and kingdoms.

[sighs] What if your princess
is more than you bargained for?

I know that already.

- [Eskel] Princess.
- [gasps]

Eskel.

I'm just exploring.
Told Geralt I'd find a good room.

[chuckles]

Well, this…

Isn't a castle, Your Highness.

They're all shitholes.

[sighs]

[lute playing]

♪ Think, where was our bent knee ♪

♪ Let man-blood flood our fields ♪

Tissaia said elven mages were dead.

She was wrong. Or lied.

- Hmm.
- Neither's a shock.

- You had a nightmare earlier.
- Night terrors are common after battle.

- You've had them...
- What was yours about?

- Is now the time to share stories...
- Do you really think I'm asking

because I personally give a sh*t?

Did you dream of someone hidden in a robe?

A black robe. How did you know that?

I've dreamt of one in red.

And our elven mage dreams of one in white.

Shared dreams are a powerful omen.

Yes, well, I'm topped off
on magical mystery at the moment.

What matters is, we can use this
to our advantage.

- [Fringilla] We need to talk to Francesca.
- [sings]

[Yennefer] She's no reason to trust us.

- We need to gain favor first.
- Shocking.

We have to do it Yen's way again.

More shocking this time

- is you finally stand to benefit.
- [scoffs]

This really all the hunters could find?

- These woods are scarce of life.
- [fire hisses]

Perhaps the others in Temeria or Redania
are having more luck.

They lick the boots of humans.

The same boots
that will eventually crush their necks.

You deserve better, brother.

All of us do.

You promised us Dol Blathanna.
How much longer must we search in vain?

Each sun sets on fewer elves.

Our land is stained, our elders dead.

Even our caves at the edge of the world
have fallen to monsters.

But we mustn't lose faith
in a bright elven future.

What has been need not always be.

- I know these ruins will bear answers.
- [lute plays]

The visions I've had
since entering these woods give faith.

[ringing sound]

[speaking Elder]

The white robe hides her face,

but I know it's Ithlinne,
our most sacred prophet,

guiding us to safe havens.

We will rebuild.

Not meat, but it'll dull your hunger.

I will not let us down.

What has been need not always be.

[sighs]

I've never heard it sung with words.

The heimlon you were playing.

A man I knew,
he said it was to guide lost elves home.

Those I've lost, yes.
Dead elves and orphaned elves.

The lyrics change often.

The White Flame wants to punish
the very people who oppress yours.

Thieving a thief
merely makes you the latest thief.

Or tell me, does the White Flame intend
to hand Xintrea back

when he's done
dancing on Calanthe's grave?

- Xintrea?
- Cintra's elven name before it was stolen.

Are you the Filavandrel of the songs?

The edge of the world?
The leader who rose against the lioness?

The lying bard and his tunes.

If I remember right, the bard's songs
claim that you were king of the elves.

My people turned to Francesca
after I failed to b*at Calanthe.

They needed faith.

Faith's a simple medicine
for desperate souls.

Faith sustains us all in dark times.

Your… seduction,

whilst charming, it lacks
the cunning of your father's blood.

Yes, well, he was half elf.

I heard there hasn't been
a pure-blooded elf born in decades.

We've dreamt of robed figures too.

Guiding us.

Hers is red. Mine is black.

If you free us, perhaps we can work
together. Figure out their meaning.

You've been digging here for how long?

Perhaps we're the key.

[elf shouts in Elder]

- We've found something!
- [gasps]

Close.

Very close.

It hides in forests?

- There are others like it?
- A few.

Dying out, though,
because they can't reproduce.

Any you come across will have been around
since the Conjunction.

So,
is that what we'll be doing here, then?

Studying monsters.

[grunts]

Yeah.

Collecting supplies
for those potions you take?

Sure.

Training?

Training…

Is dangerous.

So's the man with the black-winged helmet.

And you want to k*ll him?

Yes.

Why?

I hate him.

[sighs]

[sighs]

This is important.

We don't k*ll out of fear.

We k*ll to save lives.

Do you understand?

Hmm.

Well, how did you spend your days
when you first came here?

I was beaten and starved.

How's your room?

- It has rats.
- That's a good sign.

- [cr*ck]
- [grunts]

Means it's one of the warm ones.

[door opens]

[men cheering outside]

What's that?

Stay here.

- You know, in Cintra, I went to parties...
- Cirilla.

[opens door]

[door slams]

[folk music playing]

[cheering and laughter]

[woman] Here's a good one!
Step over that bugle…

So this is where witchers are hatched.

I hope there's a plaque
to commemorate your greatness.

Tavern outside Dorian,
handful of years ago.

I bathed basilisk blood from your hair.

[sighs]

It was wyvern blood.

You shouldn't be here.

I hear that you have a daughter now.

And I thought the softest thing
about you was that you paid.

She's not my daughter.

Oh. Well, in that case,
I could take her in.

She'd have the boys
eating out of her hand... Ooh! [giggles]

And he says he's not a father.

[loud cheering]

[chuckling]

What is this?

[Vesemir] Eskel found some friends
down the mountain.

They shouldn't be here.
And they should know better.

He drank too much stramonium
for that sting, I reckon.

- Here!
- [Vesemir] They all did.

Get me another drink!

[Vesemir] They won't remember anything
by tomorrow.

Certainly not how they got here.

[man] Wrong destination!

[laughter and cheering]

So one of my regular clients, a druid,

he was telling me
leshies are giant talking trees.

- [sighs]
- They're beautiful, too.

[grunts]

- We don't pay for talk.
- All right.

Okay.

Eskel, what are you doing?

Are you takin' a break
from tuckin' in your girl?

I understand that you're in pain,

and you can drown that pain
with whomever you want.

Just not here.

[snorts]

Aah, it's funny, you know.

Me and the boys, we come back here,
all banged up.

Rock troll bust Lambert's eye.

A werewolf took a chunk
out of Coen's arse. Eh?

And what do you come back with?

All I say is,

when I find a princess…

[laughs]

…the last thing I'm gonna do is…

Play knight.

[grunts]

Eskel.

Go to bed.

Hmm?

[panting]

[bird screeches]

We need a plan.

- What is wrong with you?
- I feel off.

The dimeritium.

[elf] On your feet. Up!

[sighs]

Where are you taking us?

You k*ll me, the White Flame
will hold no mercy hunting you down.

Do you humans ever stop talking?

- [Fringilla] What is this?
- [Yennefer] Runes of some sort. Linked by…

Chaos?

[Fringilla] This one's different.
The arrival of monsters.

The Conjunction of the Spheres.

The heavens roared
and the realms collided.

Its survivors…

lost and forsaken in a new world.

New to you.

It was ours.

Your dreams. Tell me.

Show us yours first.
This works both ways now.

In my vision,
I'm lost in a maze of dead bodies,

elves stacked so high they shade the sun.

Ithlinne guides me clear the labyrinth,

where I see the sun rise
on a new elven kingdom.

My guide's not Ithlinne. It's Emhyr.

I can't see him. He's hooded.

He just returned to Nilfgaard.
He k*lled the Usurper.

He saved me.

And yours?

What are you doing?

[Yennefer blowing]

It's Elder speech, but primitive.

"Behold the mother of forests,

the deathless mother, nesting in dreams."

The rest is gibberish.

No. It's an incantation.

About a hut, with no doors.

My father,
he used to scare us with stories

about the witch in the woods,

her home perched on basilisk legs.

She would lure the children in
to be boiled and eaten.

Wouldn't be the first time mankind
cried "witch" at the sight of elven power.

My brother's right.

These are our ancestors,
kneeling, worshiping.

Perhaps this deathless mother's
one of the old gods.

First you say it's Ithlinne,
then it's one of the old gods.

What designs would either have
with two humans?

[rumbling and cracking]

[echoing whisper]
Turn your back to the forest.

She's calling us.

[distorted voices whispering]

Stand guard until we've returned.

- Francesca.
- No.

Gage, I swore I'd take care of you
since we were children.

Now let me take care of us all.

[sighs]

Do she and I get a vote

- on joining your prayer circle?
- What do you think?

[laughter and music from hall]

[loud cheering]

Newcomers always struggle sleeping
their first nights.

It's the chill.

Klef here was one of the first witchers.

Before my time.

What happened to him?

One of the oldest monsters. A demon.

Long extinct.

She wreaked havoc until the witchers
bound her deep in the forest.

That's what she used to k*ll him.

Some say
she still calls to the unfortunate souls

unlucky enough to cross her woods.

Lures them in to devour them.

Scary stories don't really work on me.

And this one, Deglan,

was k*lled by men right in these halls.

He taught me everything I know.

Made me a witcher.

He was like a father to you, wasn't he?
As you're Geralt's.

Something like that.

It is easier when they're young.

Wait for them
to finish crying for Ma and feed them,

train them, send them out into the world,
and see who comes back alive.

You don't frighten easily.

There's times to stand still,
and there's times to keep moving.

Did that mantra help you escape Cintra?

Geralt said I'd be protected here.

It's hard to do
when I don't know who I'm protecting.

Or what I'm protecting her from.

[woman gasps]

You took on that wooden beast.

Let me take on yours!

Oh!

[creaking]

[woman moaning]

[wind whistling]

Come on. Keep moving.

If you dreamt of Emhyr,

why were you so terrified when you woke?

Tell me.

I'm in the dark.

There are people over me…

Touching me.

Just gentle taps.

I can't see them. I can't stop them. So…

I just lay there and let them.

After the Usurper ex*cuted Fergus,

he had all of the mages moved to a prison.

Uh…

A playhouse.

I was there for years.
Then Emhyr found me.

[voice hissing]

[whispering voice] I could go walking…

- [wind whistling]
- …if you were alive…

A hut with no doors.

- The inscription.
- [Yennefer] Wait.

If you're wrong,
if the dreams don't mean what you think...

Behold the mother of forests,
the deathless mother, nesting in dreams.

- Turn your back to the forest, hut, hut.
- [rumbling]

Turn your front to me,

hut, hut.

[echoing roar]

[laughter]

- Have you seen Cirilla?
- Yeah.

I saw her pounding White Gull
and dancing on the table.

- Funny.
- Mmm.

I caught her spying.

Geralt, it's her first night here.
What did you expect?

I was hoping she'd do as I say.

Kids never do what you say.

Hmm.

We had a chat, and then I sent her to bed.

Are you sure you're ready for this?

I was in a cell beneath the city
when Cintra was sacked.

I heard it all.

Fire, screams, and death.

The same sounds
that I heard here as a boy,

hiding in the cellar,

waiting for the humans to come for us.

You were the last surviving witcher
after Kaer Morhen fell.

You and a batch of mutated orphans

with nowhere else to go.

Were you ready?

No.

But you protected us anyway.

No.

I taught you how to fend for yourselves.

[chuckles]

- [ringing]
- [chains rattling]

[sighing sound echoes]

[women gasping]

- No!
- Hey!

[high-pitched buzzing]

[creaking]

[skittering and rumbling]

[heavy creaking]

[pattering]

Maybe Eskel's leshy wants its hand back.

[pattering and creaking continue]

Wield your wits, boys.

- I'll secure the guests.
- I'll check the wing.

- We'll check the perimeter.
- Follow me! Get a move on!

- Let's go!
- [Lambert] Move it!

- I'll find Cirilla.
- [Vesemir] No.

Do what you do best.

Stay and fight.

[loud banging]

- [gasps]
- Look alive, girl! We've got company.

- What are you doing? Stay back.
- Hey!

Don't barge into a girl's room
waving about a sword, you moron!

- [gasping]
- Stand guard outside.

I was following f*cking orders.

Come on, let's go! Move it!

[water dripping]

[creaking]

[thump]

[rumbling]

[creaking]

[creaking continues]

Where are you?

- [crashing]
- [screaming]

[gasping]

- [squeaking]
- [woman sobbing]

[chittering and squelching]

[rumbling]

[whispering voices]

- [wind whistling]
- [groans softly]

[whispering voices overlapping]

What are you?

Hello.

Don't be scared.

I'm here to help you.

Ithlinne?

I knew it.

You're not him.

I know what you are.

[Emhyr] An old wives' tale for children.

Are you a child, Fringilla?

Did I save you from the playhouse
to be a child?

I'm not scared.

And I don't do help.

Yes, you don't need anyone.

You have nothing to hide here.

I know.

It's just… the path has been hard.

And the path forward will be harder still.

[echoing] But I can help you.

[voices hissing]

And yet…

You've stayed for decades.

Why?

Is it love?

Legacy, you say?

Power!

That's what you live for.

[laughing] That's your play?
It's rather desperate.

You're the desperate one, Yennefer.

[distorted] The most.

You are not the new sun.

- You are not him.
- Oh, he'll never tell you what I will.

The path to true strength
lies not in humble faith,

but in believing in oneself…

[Ithlinne, echoing]
…and seizing one's destiny.

The world will die in frost
and be reborn with a new sun.

But first, the earth will flow
with the blood of elves.

How do I save them?

Remove those robes.

Or what if I told you
that you could have power?

And not of a meek sycophant,

but as your own woman.

This isn't real.

[Ithlinne] Well, imagine if it were.

[Emhyr and Ithlinne] Imagine
that you are the emperor, right now.

[girl] The others' dreams were obvious.

You thought you were special.

But no.

Yours was obvious too.

Then make your ask.

I would rebuild our forces.

Strengthen our numbers.

We are an empire, but the North…
the North is a league of many kingdoms.

[Emhyr and Ithlinne]
And a large and unpredictable land.

[echoing] Even with numbers,
you'd be lost. You need friends.

Allies that know this land
as if it were their own.

No Northern Kingdom
would ally itself with us.

- [whisper] No…
- No kingdom of men.

Do you want salvation?

[whispering] Then you're bringing back
the wrong elf.

The first pure elf for years.

A new hope for a brighter future.

I've been with child before.

None have come to term.

But if it could?

If I could help you?

All you need to do is ask.

You're not Ithlinne, are you?

[distorted] Your ancestors' faith
was better than yours.

[whispering echo] Better than yours.

Then make your ask.

What must I do?

To see your child live,

you must live first

amongst men.

[distorted ringing]

Xintrea!

[girl] You're no longer bound.

Why haven't you thought
to portal yourself free?

You've felt it since Sodden,

haven't you?

- [distorted] Or rather…
- [wind whistles]

[girl and Ithlinne] …haven't felt it.

But you'd rather be blind
than see the truth.

Remember this lesson, Piglet?

[wind gusting]

[bird screeches]

[distant crashing sounds]

Zeilil eip.

Zeilil eip.

Zeilil eip.

Zeilil eip.

You blew it at Sodden.

Fire is dangerous magic.

Farewell, Chaos!

What will she live for now?

Zeilil eip. Zeilil eip.

Move, damn it!

f*cking parlor tricks!

Yes, denial!

[girl and Ithlinne] A tasty garnish.

- I'm going to let you bake some more.
- [whispering echo]

I want your desperation crisp.

You will beg me to take it from you.

And I will.

[creaking]

[liquid running]

[soft creaking]

[sighs]

[creaking and rumbling]

[sounds fade]

[grunting]

[snorts]

[creaking and shuffling]

[skittering]

[sounds fade]

[grunts]

[groans]

[Geralt straining]

[screeching]

[roaring]

[gasping]

[growls]

Eskel?

[panting] Geralt.

[Eskel grunting]

[groans]

[growls]

[yells]

[roars]

Eskel!

I came… back here.

I knew something…

Was wrong.

- I don't know what happened.
- [groans]

But I thought…

I thought I could fight it.

[groans]

I thought…

You could…

Help…

Me.

[screeches]

Vesemir.

Should've known better than to bring
my whores to a witcher den.

Danica, you fool.

Stay here. Take cover.

- [door slams]
- No.

No, no, no. Lambert!

f*ck this. I'm not dying here.
What's the quickest way out, girl?

There's stairs to the north of the hall,
a turret to the south… I don't know.

- All right, come on.
- No.

- We have to stay. Geralt...
- Geralt may be dead already!

- Look, witchers fight. We run.
- [rumbling]

- [crashing]
- [gasping and screaming]

Go. Go!

- Go.
- [women crying]

- [rumbling]
- What is this?

It's Eskel.

The leshy's infected him.

That's not possible.

- [creaking]
- [growls]

[skittering]

[clattering]

[Geralt growls]

[Eskel snarling]

[Vesemir] The door! Go!

[yells]

[roaring]

[screeches]

Eskel.

We need time.

We can save you.

[strained] Eskel…

Please… stop…

- [snarling]
- [whimpers]

[Eskel screeches]

[screams]

[roaring]

[gasping]

[Vesemir sighs]

[sighs]

You did what you had to do.

[sighs]

[whimpering]

[voices calling]

There you are.

It's all right.

You saw her too.

Don't worry. You're free.

You're going with them.

Francesca claims the old gods want
an alliance between elves and Nilfgaard.

- I agreed.
- Then you're both fools.

You know that evil witch is no god.

I know my faith brought me this far.

- I'll see how much further it can take me.
- That sounded like ambition.

- Impossible.
- Not as impossible as you finding meaning.

- What did you ask for?
- [horse neighs]

- An end to this nonsense.
- Oh, glib as ever.

Uh...

If she really is that evil,

why did she let you go?

[elves shouting]

[thunder crashing]

[sobs]

[rats squeaking]

[door opens]

[Geralt groans]

Is it over?

We're safe now?

Are you okay?

I'm all right.

Come with me.

When I first came to Kaer Morhen,

Vesemir said to me
that the world outside these walls

is a dangerous place.

[thunderclap]

[Geralt] But times are changing,

even here.

[high-pitched ringing]

Nowhere's safe now.

[shouting in Elder]

[yelps]

[Geralt] You can't run from the world.

You can't hide from it.

Eskel.

- Eskel.
- For the brothers.

But you can find power

and purpose.

A chance to survive the horror.

[thunder crashing]

[gasping and shouting in Elder]

[gasps]

[shouts in Elder]

[gasps]

[sobbing]

[screaming]

[sobbing]

[Geralt] This Continent…

Was meant for no one.

All you have to do, Ciri,

is keep your sword close

and keep moving.