"The Tower of the Swallow" by Andrzej Sapkowski, summary

This fantasy novel by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski was published in 1997. The plot is constructed as a mosaic of memories, the diary chronicles of the bard Dandelion, interrogation reports, and the intertwining stories of various characters.

The book is part of the "Witcher" series, ranking sixth after the collections "The Last Wish" and "Sword of Destiny" and the novels "Blood of Elves," "Hour of Contempt," and "Baptism of Fire." The main novel pentalogy is completed by the next installment, "The Lady of the Lake," and the series was later expanded with the novel "Season of Storms." The Witcher saga has won prestigious literary awards and formed the basis for a world-renowned game trilogy and television series.

Shelter in the Pereplyuta swamps

In the autumn, in the deserted swamps of Ebbing, the old scholar Vysogota finds a seriously wounded fugitive. The sixteen-year-old girl’s face is disfigured by a deep scar from cheekbone to ear. The healer cleans the inflamed wound with willow infusion, stitches the edges with hemp threads, and administers decoctions of datura and aconite to the patient. Regaining consciousness, the young warrior calls herself Ciri.

Long autumn evenings are spent chatting by the fireplace while tanning muskrat pelts. Ciri tells the hermit about the demise of the Rats’ gang, which she joined during the summer. The bounty hunter Leo Bonhart tracked the gang to an inn in the village of Jealousy. The merciless mercenary hacked the girl’s comrades to pieces, then sawed off their heads. "He ordered those who came running to bring him a sack of salt and a keg of vinegar." Bonhart chained his captive, beat her, and forced her to fight in the gladiatorial arena in Claremont.

The abuse ended abruptly. Ciri was saved during the chaos when the imperial coroner, Stefan Skellen, nicknamed the Owl, hurled a steel throwing star at her. Although seriously wounded, the princess managed to escape pursuit on her black mare, Kelpie.

The Road to the Druids

The witcher Geralt advances through the forests beyond the river. Accompanying him are the vampire Emiel Regis, the archer Milva, the poet Dandelion, and the Nilfgaardian Cahir. Dandelion is writing with a lead pencil, preparing his memoirs. The group is searching for a circle of druids, hoping to use their magic to locate Ciri.

In Ridbrunn, the witcher is detained by the local prefect, Fulco Artevelde. The mayor offers a deal in exchange for the freedom of the young bandit Angoulême. The bandit reports an ambush being prepared in the mining town of Belhaven. There, the bandit Nightingale and the half-elf Schirru intend to destroy the witcher squad on the orders of the sorcerer Vilgefortz.

A battle erupts at the Rialto mine. Local rebels hurl incendiary oil shells at the buildings, and in the chaos, Geralt and Cahir engage Schirru’s forces. The half-elf seizes the silver witcher medallion. The fugitives flee into the Amell Mountains, rescuing Cahir, who has been seriously wounded in the head. "Ciri is alive," the young Nilfgaardian rants in his delirium.

Secret intrigues and magic

Royal spy Dijkstra arrives in Lan Exeter to see the monarch of Kovir, Esterad Thyssen. Redania requires funds for the war against the advancing southern empire. The king refuses to violate his neutrality with a formal treaty. Under the influence of his wife, Zuleika, the monarch finds a way to secretly transfer a million bizants to the Redanian treasury through Novigrad banks and releases mercenaries to reinforce the northern regiments.

On the Skellige Isles, the sorceress Yennefer builds a telecommunications apparatus. Jarl Crach an Craite provides the necessary resources and the sacred diamond Brisingamen from the temple of the goddess Freya. A magical megascope allows communication with the sorceresses of the Lodge.

Yennefer refuses to obey Philippa Eilhart. Realizing the danger of Ciri’s situation, the sorceress sets out on a longship to the Sednina Abyss. There, the ship is caught in a monstrous whirlpool created by Vilgefortz. Yennefer is captured by the renegade mage, undergoing interrogation in shackles in a hidden castle.

Battle on the ice of Lake Tarn Mira

Vysogota finds a description of the legendary Tower of the Swallow in ancient books. The ancient portal, Tor Zirael, is hidden in the land of Mil Trachta near Lake Tarn Myra. Ciri prepares to set out, despite the approaching winter. On Saovina’s Day, the girl tracks down and mercilessly kills four guards from Skellen’s company in a Dun Dara tavern. "I am Ciri of Kaer Morhen. I am a witcher! I have come to kill." Old Vysogota dies of a heart attack in his hut that same night.

The final act of the long chase unfolds on the frozen Tarn Myra lake. Stefan Skellen, Rience, Bonhart, and the mercenaries catch up with the fugitive on the slippery ice. Thick fog obscures the shores.

Ciri dons her skates. Gliding effortlessly over the seaweed hidden beneath the ice, she makes swift attacks, striking down the mercenaries with her dwarven-forged sword. Rience casts a spell, but splits the ice along his own troop and falls into the icy water. Flying to the edge of the hole on her skates, Ciri slashes off the mage’s fingers, and he drowns in the abyss.

Bonhart attempts to intercept the warrior at the northern end of the lake. The ice armor beneath his horse breaks, and the mercenary barely manages to reach the shore.

Amidst the swirls of the aurora borealis, a shining basalt tower materializes on a hill. Ciri rides a black mare through the opened stone gates. Passing through mystical visions and otherworldly spaces, she emerges onto a blooming spring shore to the sounds of the elf Avallac’h’s flute.