My Geralt didn't give a fuck about that he wanted to save Triss, that's why he went with the elves.
My Geralt didn't get overly worried to be honest. Triss has proven time and again that she is more than capable of handling herself. The reason I put so much emphasis on Geralt wanting to clear his name (not to be confused with some silly patriotic "for Temeria!" nonsense) is because he has
no chance of living this down. Foltest was not some random nobody, and Geralt is quite well-known in his own right. He really stands out: a white-haired witcher? There are few witchers around as it is, and none of them, barring Vesemir (to my knowledge at least), have a great shock of flowing white hair.
Most people don't like witchers to start with. But a kingslaying witcher allied with scoiatel terrorists? Bring the pitchforks and the torches ladies and gentlemen, it's time to gut some witchers - and my Geralt most definitely believes that once is enough. And that's not evening mentioning the assassins people like Henselt might send, out of both vengeance and fear.
And if he doesn't clear his name: where can he go? As I just said, anywhere in the North is unsafe. Heck, if Kaer Morhen isn't safe, nowhere in the North is. The northern, neutral monarchs won't have him, that's for sure. Dijkstra probably still limps thanks to him by the way, so Geralt had best stay faaaaar away from the North.
Nilfgaard then? Emhyr may have spared him last time, but as I see it, he did so more out of concern for Ciri, who saw Geralt and Yen as her surrogate parents, but I don't see him asylum and welcoming him with open arms either. Don't forget: Geralt is one of the only people who know Emhyr's deepest, darkest secrets. He is the very definition of a loose end, and Emhyr won't want that within a thousand miles if he can help it (and he most certainly help it).
Geralt has no choice but to clear his name if he wants to have a shot at a life without daily attempts on his life. His memory is coming back, he's starting to remember Yen & Ciri, he wants to find them. Angry mobs and assassins coming after him do not fit into that plan. So he bites the bullet, trusts Triss to at the very least hang on until he can intervene (which he does in Loc Muinne), and makes the only rational choice he can.
Yes, this whole deal was about the mages, and I just couldn't let it happen that all good work with Thanedd went to dogs. You know, it is not even funny anymore - first war - Sodden Hill. Bad mages, let's have Thanedd. 2nd war - Brenna, and Northern victory, partially thanks to the Lodge. Bad sorceresses. Get rid of them ASAP! A new Council? Are you frigging kidding me? Let's have a nice little massacre, it sure looks more epic. Loc Muinne painted with blood was such a sight! CDPR provided me with a perfect ending in TW2. I hope in TW3 I'll see at last all the lands between Yaruga and Pontar becoming Nilfgaardian provinces. Being wholeheartedly for Nilfgaard, I also did not have any problems choosing.
I couldn't agree more. Now personally, my Geralt doesn't much care either way, but maybe he prefers not living under Emhyr's boot, for obvious reasons (as stated above). Also, it's no mystery that Geralt is
not on friendly terms with most sorceresses. Assire learnt that the hard way when she realized that pretty much everything he confessed in bed was a flat-out lie. He very much boned her in every sense of the word on that one. Triss and Yen are pretty much the only sorceresses he can put up with. But if sorceresses are bad as it is, scheming sorceresses are even worse. Also, these scheming sorceresses are more than likely going to be problematic vis-à-vis Ciri. There's no sense in letting that Lodge keep on going. Dismantling it in public is therefore Geralt's best move.
This leads me to also point out two things I forgot in my initial post.
First off, Sile dies. I used to spare her, mainly because I do think that, despite his rough approach in general, Geralt is somethign of a gentleman in his own way, and watching a woman writhe in pain and die isn't his style. But then, it hit me that this one was, not one minute ago, actively trying
to have me eaten by a bloody dragon. Lady, not cool. Not only is that bint trying to kill me, but even as she fails to do so, she jumps into a portal promising to kill me as soon as she can. If that portal backfires and tears her to shreds, don't expect me to lift my little finger. Karma is one hell of a bitch, ain't it?
Second: the dragon dies. I understand that Geralt is extremely adverse to killing such an intelligent and majestic beast. He'd much rather enjoy a beer, a nice dinner and a tub with her than stab her in the throat. However, two things need to be pointed out:
1) The dragon has a fucking tree trunk sticking through its chest. I know it takes a lot to kill a dragon, but just walking away is stone-cold cruel. That thing is not likely going to walk away alive, or at the very least is going to be crippled and maimed for the rest of its life. Finishing it off is the humane thing to do.
2) The bloody thing is mind-controlled. Geralt doesn't kill sentient beings unless it can't be helped. This dragon isn't thinking for itself, and is unquestionably a threat to other people. Either you can break the mind-control spell, either you put an end to the threat in another way... the only one left. Stabby stabby.
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