5.
It was only when Chaos eventually tried to move/uses the Witcher's that it found that they were shielded and out of its reach know, magic had used the amulets that Harriett had given the Witcher's and magic had moved in. So magic shrouded them from other powers lake a protective blanked, the Witcher's soon found that their signs stopped working, or just not working very well for they still generated Chaos, in some cases in small amounts.
So Magic taking note that it had weakened them, gave them a stream to its power, this had an unforeseen side-effect thier signs changed, it's runic alphabet was added to Magic like old Norse and Latin, that did not stop it from being used by Chao's users as the elder speech was its medium first, this just had an effect when the Witcher's used them, for they had the magic now to uses this new form of runes.
Ignis, now sent out torrents of wild flames more powerful than any Witcher could normally summon, yet the flames only hit and burned the targets, it became intent based, for they would split and change into beasts of magic and burn all to ash, kind of like Fiend-fire with out the "it will kill you as well part".
Aard, became a favourite as it became more like true telekinetic powers more then push and pull, and while active it would allow them to blast holes into the heads of armoured monsters with eases.
Yrden, became more useful, bigger creature became powerless in its effect, creature that had a defence to it before did not now, it even worked on dragons beings that should be able to fly from the effect were now bound in the air by it.
Quen, worked as an actual energy shield, now stopping both bolts and arrows as well as spells. Swords became blunt against it and chaos could not pass its bounds. Think Protego, that could stop rudimentary bullets as well as energy.
Axii, worked better nothing was immune to its effect, when active a Witcher would be left to their devices or given information freely. Think watered-down Imperius Curse and confundus charm, with out the negative side effects on the soul of the first.
Magic had seen chaos plan to use the Witcher against its mortal not mortal avatar and had started to use Harriett's protections e.g. the amulets, her potions that she gave them to help with healing and poisoning. Magic used them and changed the Witcher's powers from chaos to that of true magic.
They started to developed form that small stream of magic power small cores that worked like muscles, the more they used their magic the more powerful it grew to compensate for the power they had lost access to, and like a muscle it got bigger and stronger with uses, and as it got stronger the damage the mutagens had done were being undone while enhancing the effects of strength and other things. Magic wasn't really about equivalent exchange it was about improving its vessels and hosts,
Lambert would one day find that he had sired quite the horde of children, that Harriett had taken in if the mother could not look after them, same for most of her boys. That's not to say all because some were sterile naturally, but she had plans for that as well if they ever wanted to be fathers. After all she wanted grand-babies to spoil rotten.
For those mother that had elected to keep the children she had set up a small town, in the valley below Kaer Morhen, none of the Witcher's had seen it in passing as it was hidden and protected by magic, in the central part of the town was a stone built orphanage/Harriett's house, that also worked as a school.
This village was soon prosperous and well hidden, but lacked many men. but with magic and some clever thinking Harriett had the hole thing working, they had herd animals that could live in this environment, sheep and goats, highland cattle, and other things that could survive the wilder places like this mountain range.
Harriett, set up a sewage system the waste was sent to their feilds where it had been transformed into fertiliser. She had bathhouses set up around the town she explained why they had to bathe , the benefits of it.
Soon it was not uncommon to see hordes of women making days of the bathhouse, the water had been enchanted to refresh and eases pains and scars, it healed diseases like common sexual transmissions and even things like tuberculosis.