The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

The Witcher

Prologue

Geralt, a Witcher, is seen running through the countryside, in a state of exhaustion and with no weapons. He's found by the Witchers of Kaer Morhen, who know and recognise him, and is taken back by them to Kaer Morhen. Once there, he recovers very quickly from his physical injuries but has no memory of his history or how he came to be there.

A few days later, Kaer Morhen is attacked by a group of bandits wearing a Salamander insignia. With them are two mages and a mercenary assassin, The Professor. Triss Merigold, a sorceress staying temporarily at Kaer Morhen with the Witchers, recognises one of the mages but not the other, the leader of the bandits.

The Witchers, with the help of Triss, manage to defeat the bandits but The Professor and the mage leader manage to escape, taking with them The Witcher Secrets, the equipment and information that may allow them to create mutants similar to Witchers.

During the battle Leo, an apprentice Witcher, is killed and Triss is injured. Geralt helps provide a cure for Triss and in the conversation that follows, reveals that he has a vague memory of a sorceress who was important to him, and thinks it was Triss. Triss confirms that they were close and encourages him to rekindle his relationship with her.

The Witchers and Triss attend a funeral for Leo. Afterwards, Vesemir, the leader of the Kaer Morhen Witchers, announces that, because of the importance of getting back the Witcher Secrets, they will abandon Kaer Morhen and seek out the Salamander. It's decided that Geralt should head south to Temeria as he once cured the King of Temeria's daughter of a curse, so he's likely to get help there. Triss says she will carry out her own investigations and then join him in Temeria.

Chapter 1

Geralt arrives at a small village on the outskirts of Vizima, the capital of Temeria. As he enters the local inn, there's panic at the gates because a pack of ghostly dogs are attacking a woman and child who are also just arriving. Geralt, with the help of the others nearby, goes to help but the woman is killed. The child escapes into the compound where he goes temporarily into a strange trance, it's clear that he has magical powers of some kind.

Also at the inn is Shani, a doctor who knew Geralt in the past (and with whom it appears he also had some kind of relationship). Geralt discovers that Vizima is under quarantine because of a plague outbreak and he will need a pass to get in. Shani is there because of the plague but has remained in the village because of the dog attacks, which are a serious problem for the village. She also confirms that the Salamander are in the area, but the villagers are afraid to talk about it.

To get a pass to the city and to find out more about the Salamander, Geralt needs to gain the trust of The Reverend, a Priest of the Eternal Fire who is effectively the village leader. He does this by carrying various tasks on behalf of The Reverend and his allies. In the meantime, Shani arranges for Alvin, the mysterious child, to be fostered by a local healer, Abigail, but he then moves in with The Reverend, who considers Abigail a witch and therefore unsuitable.

While carrying out these tasks, Geralt meets up with another old friend, the dwarf Zoltan Chivay. He also has an encounter with the King of the Wild Hunt, who gives cryptic messages that Geralt's story is pre-determined by Destiny, and that everything he does is as a weapon of Death.

Eventually, Geralt satisfies The Reverend of his intentions, and is given information that leads to the local Salamander hideout. He kills those present, and recovers some equipment, finding out that the main headquarters of the Salamanders is in Vizima. He also discovers that the Salamander were demanding local children to be handed over as tribute, and that The Reverend passed Alvin to them.

While leaving the Salamander hideout with Alvin, Geralt meets Abigail, who says that the village leaders are blaming her for the Beast attacks and plan to kill her. Geralt has also gathered a lot of evidence that it's the leaders who are responsible but it's also possible that Abigail was working behind the scenes to help cause the evil. He needs to make a decision - help Abigail, or let the villagers execute her.

Whatever he chooses, he now has the pass he needs to get into Vizima. He and Shani go to the city gates. Shani enters easily but the leader of the village guard has double-crossed Geralt, and hands him over to the City Guard for having a fake pass. Geralt allows himself to be taken prisoner.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

Chapter 2

Geralt gets out of prison as a reward for killing a dangerous monster that's been hiding in the City Sewers. During the monster hunt he meets Siegfried, a Knight of the Flaming Rose, who is also in the sewers hunting the monster. They may work together in the hunt, or Geralt may prefer to work alone.

Geralt is restricted to the Temple Quarter of Vizima because of the quarantine but can also visit the swamps outside the city. His main goal is to find the Salamander hideout in the city, and he realises quickly that they must be getting assistance from someone important in the Temple Quarter. He sets out to discover who this is, working with a private investigator called Raymond Marlowe.

While he's carrying out this investigation, he also meets up with Shani and Zoltan again, and they reintroduce him to another old friend from the past, Dandelion the Bard.

In the swamps, he also discovers that another Witcher, Berengar, was there before him. Vesemir had mentioned Berengar at Kaer Morhen, but he's a loner, and it's still unknown what happened to him.

As well as the problem with the plague, the city is also on the point of erupting into violence between the humans and non-humans. Foltest, the King of Temeria, isn't in the city, and a lot of the edicts currently being issued seem to be inciting even more violence. A band of militant non-humans, the Scoia'tel, are camped in the swamps. They are led by the elf, Yaevinn, who asks Geralt to help out his group on a scouting mission. Coincidentally, Siegfried also asks Geralt to help out a squad of Knights of the Flaming Rose, who are also in the swamp. The two squads meet and there is a small but violent battle. Geralt may have chosen to help either side or avoided getting involved.

Eventually, unless he missed all of the clues, Geralt discovers that Raymond Marlowe was killed soon after Geralt first met him and that the "Raymond" that Geralt is working with is actually the Salamander leader (Azer Javed) using a magical disguise. Geralt sets a trap for him in the swamps, but it doesn't go well for either of them. Azer Javed is a Fire Mage, weakened by the surrounding water, and he calls on The Professor to help. Geralt isn't strong enough to defeat them but he's saved when the fight is interrupted by a skirmish between the Scoia'tel and the Knights. His enemies flee the scene, leaving Geralt collapsed on the ground.

Chapter 3

Geralt wakes up in Triss's house in the Trade Quarter of Vizima. She had just arrived and had been scanning for magic, which led her to him in the swamp. She also found another strong magical source and asks for Geralt to help her track it down.

Triss is able to give him a pass for the Trade Quarter and Geralt can now move freely through it, as well as the Temple Quarter and the Swamp.

Triss asks Geralt to attend a reception that evening, being held by a merchant called Leuvaarden who may be a useful ally. Geralt has met him previously, both in the outskirts and Vizima, and suspected that he may be more involved than he seemed, so it's a useful lead. Adda, the Princess that Geralt had cured from a curse years earlier, is also at the reception.

After the reception, Geralt gets further information that the Salamander aren't just involved in criminal activities and whatever is happening about the Witcher Secrets, but are also linked somehow to the political intrigue that's causing chaos in the city.

His mission is interrupted though, when he gets a message that he's urgently needed at the bank, as Yaevinn's Scoia'tel have broken in and taken hostages. At first, this seems to be just Witchers Work - the City Guards and Order of the Rose need to get in through an adjacent building and there are some monsters inside. But when Geralt breaks through, he finds that the Scoia'tel are also trapped, there are more monsters in their planned escape route. At this point, he's forced into a decision, either help Yaevinn escape, or help the Knights, in which case Yaevinn still escapes but many other Scoia'tel are killed. Whichever he chooses, the other side isn't going to agree to be his ally in the future.

Geralt helps Triss to find the other magical source, and it turns out to be Alvin, who is now in the local hospital. Geralt goes to investigate, only to find Dandelion waiting for him - he's just witnessed a boy being taken captive by the Salamander. This is, of course, Alvin, who seems to be of special interest to them. Geralt rescues Alvin, again, and is faced with a choice of passing him to either Triss or Shani. Whoever he chooses, he can forget about any future "special relationship" with the other.

Geralt also finds that there are Salamander in the swamp and that they're using the people from the local brickmaker village as forced labour. He goes to the swamp, destroying the camps and freeing the peasants. Another lead takes him to a blocked-off part of the city, where he again destroys the Salamander hideout and, while doing so, has an interesting encounter with a werewolf.

With the evidence from these two raids, Leuvaarden and Triss are able to find out where the main Salamander base in the city is. Geralt invades the hideout, assisted by whoever he allied with at the bank raid, and manages to destroy it. Azer Javed escapes again, but Geralt finally kills The Professor and avenges Leo's death.

As Geralt emerges from the caves afterwards, he's surrounded by guards led by the Princess Adda, who is revealed as being part of the plot to take over Temeria. They plan to kill him immediately but he vanishes, whisked away by Triss's magic.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

Chapter 4

Triss has teleported Geralt to Murky Waters, a village some miles from Vizima. At first, this seems to be a mystical and peaceful place, but it still has its dark secrets. Dandelion is also there with messages from Vizima and a recommendation that Geralt stay away until Foltest comes back and Adda's power is weakened. Dandelion also tells him that there was another attempt to kidnap Alvin, who used his power to disappear. He reappeared in Murky Waters, which is why Triss decided it would be a good place for Geralt to hide (and keep an eye on Alvin). She's also given Dandelion a dimeritium amulet with instructions for it to be passed to Alvin as it will help him control his powers.

While at Murky Waters, Geralt is forced to take a break from his mission to destroy the Salamander. He finally meets Berengar, who is also there. Geralt finds out through time that Berengar helped the Salamander and chose to betray the Witchers. Geralt may decide to kill Berengar for that, but may let him live.

Geralt also carries out a few quests on behalf of the people of Murky Waters, including a Goddess, the Lady of the Lake, who will reward him by knighting him and giving him a powerful sword.

He also spends quite a lot of time with Alvin, trying to be a father to him and giving him advice.

Eventually, soldiers arrive from Vizima. Foltest has returned to his capital, and is now quelling all opposition. The troops are there to round up a group of non-human refugees, who they consider to be Scoia'tel. The refugees have retaliated by taking the villagers hostage including, of course, Alvin. Geralt now has to choose between helping his allies (the ones who he helped in the bank raid, and who helped him in the Salamander raid), or he may decide to stay out of it and just help get Alvin to safety. Whatever he chooses, a battle between the Knights and the non-humans takes place and, in the heat of the battle, Alvin disappears again.

Geralt and Dandelion return to Vizima by boat. As they approach, they see that the city is on fire.

Chapter 5

Geralt and Dandelion arrive and almost immediately meet Radovid, the king of neighbouring Redania, who is there to help Foltest (in return for which, we discover, he's going to get Adda as a bride).

Meanwhile, Foltest is inspecting part of the city with his retinue when they're attacked by the Scoia'tel. A group of Knights led by Jacques de Aldersberg, their Grand Master, arrive in the nick of time to save the king. The Grand Master clearly wants Foltest to put him in charge of quelling the rebellion, but Foltest seems suspicious of his motives. After the Grand Master leaves, Foltest spots Geralt, who has just arrived, and orders him to attend the king at the Palace.

At the palace, Foltest tells Geralt that Adda has turned back into a striga, a fearsome monster that comes out at night. This is the same curse that Geralt had lifted years earlier. Foltest asks Geralt to help again, saying that he'd prefer it if the curse is lifted, but if he needs to kill Adda, it's OK. They also discuss what's happening in Vizima, and Geralt tells him about the link between Salamander and the rebellion. Foltest agrees to try to find Azer Javed's HQ if Geralt sorts out the problem with Adda.

Adda is hiding in the swamp and Geralt goes there to find her, but the swamp is now teeming with monsters and it looks like he's going to get killed. Fortunately, the Grand Master shows up in the nick of time and uses magic to kill off the monsters. He and Geralt meet for the first time, but the conversation is a little strange - the Grand Master hints that they've met before and that he's repaying a debt to Geralt, but doesn't go into detail.

Geralt fixes the curse, one way or another, and in doing so confirms that the curse wasn't a relapse, but had been deliberately placed on Adda again. In return, Foltest passes him the information on where to find Azer Javed.

While on his way to the HQ, Geralt is intercepted by de Wett, a Nilfgaardian who is also a Knight of the Flaming Rose, an advisor to Foltest, and a close companion to Adda. He seems to know more about the curse than he should, and when challenged, also reveals that he's working with the Salamander. He dies under Geralt's sword.

At the HQ, Geralt is helped by his allies (or by Triss and the king's men if he stayed neutral), and gains access to the building. There, he discovers that Azer Javed has been creating mutants using the Witcher Secrets, but that these are little more than automatons, obeying his every command.

Geralt continues into the HQ, and eventually meets and kills Azer Javed. But there's an unexpected twist. Geralt had apparently interrupted a conversation between Azer Javed and the true leader of the rebellion and Salamander. Geralt approaches the magic mirror being used, and discovers that the Grand Master is behind the conspiracy.

Epilogue

Geralt returns to Vizima and updates Foltest on what has happened. Foltest offers to pay Geralt to kill the Grand Master, and, although his first reaction is to refuse as this isn't what Witchers do, he realises that his interests coincide with Foltest and agrees. Both sides recognise that the treachery doesn't extend to all Knights of the Order, most of whom are probably not involved. If Geralt has been working closely with Siegfried, he'll be certain of this, and will suggest to Foltest that Siegfried be put in charge of the Order.

Geralt fights his way back through Vizima and reaches the Knights' HQ. Once inside, he meets the Grand Master, but is immediately transported by him to a vision of a futuristic ice field setting, where the Grand Master tells him of his Grand Plan and tries to persuade Geralt to join him.

The Grand Master's ability to travel through time has allowed him to see a future that has long been prophesied, in which the world is covered with Ice. He had decided that for humans to survive, they would need a strong leader, and would need strong warriors to protect them. His conspiracy to take over Temeria and to create the mutants was part of this plan.
Sometimes, the phrases he uses reflect a twisted version of the views Geralt expressed to Alvin in Murky Waters, but they don't help persuade him. He pursues the Grand Master through the Ice Fields, helped, and occasionally hindered, at different times by those he's met in his travels and who he is able to pull into the vision. Eventually, he comes face to face with the Grand Master and they fight.

As Geralt approaches victory, the fight is interrupted by the King of the Wild Hunt, who again says that this is all pre-destined, and that Geralt is his tool. Geralt is asked to choose between handing the Grand Master over or fighting the King of the Wild Hunt. Either way, the Grand Master is dead, at which point Geralt notices that he's wearing an amulet just like the one he gave Alvin, but much older.

Geralt emerges from the vision, and leaves the Order's HQ with Dandelion.

Finally, we see him receive his reward from Foltest, but as Geralt leaves the throne room, he realises that there's danger, even here. He races back to Foltest and saves him from an assassin. The assassin's corpse shows he has mutated eyes. Just like Geralt.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

The Witcher 2

Prologue

It's a month after the story of The Witcher ended. Geralt is seen to be in a prison cell, shackled, beaten, with guards that wear Temerian uniforms and describe him as a traitor. A well-dressed man appears, identified shortly afterwards as Vernon Roche, Commander of King Foltest's Special Forces unit, the Blue Stripes. He orders the guards to take Geralt to another room to be interrogated.

Through a series of flashbacks, we find out the events that explain why Geralt, hailed as a hero a month ago, is now in this predicament.

After the attempted assassination of Foltest, the king insisted that Geralt stay with him as his personal bodyguard. Geralt wasn't too happy about this but you can't easily refuse a king. Geralt also continued (or re-started) his affair with Triss, who is now Foltest's Advisor.

Foltest now has a new crisis. He has had a long relationship with the Baroness of La Valette, and is the father of her two youngest children, Anais and Boussy. As he has no legitimate children and Adda, for one reason or another, is no longer his heir, he plans to introduce the children to court, but the Baroness's advisors have turned her against him and she, together with her older son Aryan, are now rebelling against Foltest.

Geralt tells Roche about the day they attacked La Valette castle. Roche himself was present some of the time, so he already knew about some incidents, in particular that a dragon had unexpectedly attacked Foltest and his troops. Despite that, La Valette Castle was taken by Foltest and his forces but a dragon attack caused Foltest and Geralt to have become separated from the rest of the forces by the time Foltest was finally reunited with his children in the Monastery, where they were being guarded by a monk.

Foltest ordered Geralt to keep his distance so that they weren't scared by him, which meant he was too far away to prevent the monk from assassinating Foltest and then leap out of the window.

Foltest's men surged into the room, to find Geralt, sword drawn, standing over the body of their king. Nobody else was in the room, and Geralt was immediately arrested and very quickly found guilty of the murder.

Returning to the interrogation, Roche decides he believes Geralt. Geralt had seen Scoia'tel, wearing trophies that identified them as part of a unit led by an elf called Iorveth. The killer had escaped with their help. Roche has a spy who had reported seeing Iorveth about a week earlier with a man fitting the same description.

Roche wants to find the real killer and decides that Geralt will be a useful ally. Before leaving the room, he gives Geralt a key to his shackles and tells Geralt that he is planning to go to Flotsam, where Iorveth was seen, on the morning tide.

Geralt successfully escapes and joins Roche on his ship, discovering that Triss is also on board. They set sail for Flotsam.

Chapter 1

Geralt, Triss and Roche disembark from the boat and head into Flotsam. On the road, they're ambushed by Iorveth but, thanks to Triss's magic and Geralt's fighting skills, are able to escape and make it to the town. As they arrive, they see Iorveth with the Kingslayer, watching them from a vantage point above. Geralt can hear the conversation - the Kingslayer apparently knows Geralt well, and his weaknesses, but thinks he's safe because Geralt has lost his memory. He also looks remarkably like a witcher.

(Although Geralt doesn't know this yet, the Kingslayer first met Iorveth a few weeks earlier, when he showed up carrying the severed head of King Demavend of Aedirn, who he had also assassinated. He offered Iorveth more crowned heads in return for Iorveth's assistance).

When Geralt and his friends reach the town centre, they see Dandelion and Zoltan, just about to be hanged. Geralt and Roche intervene to stop the killing and finally negotiate a deal with Loredo, the town leader, a man who is clearly corrupt, self-serving and ready to twist facts to his own purpose. At first, his purpose seems to be to get the town under martial law, using the Scoia'tel and Foltest's death as an excuse.

Geralt settles down to do witcher work, while also scouting out the area, and Roche uses his own methods to get leads on the Kingslayer. During one monster killing, Geralt comes into contact with Sile, another sorceress, and they work together, despite the fact that Triss warns Geralt she can't be trusted.

Eventually, Triss comes up with a lead - an elf close to Iorveth was found wounded in the forest and is now in custody. Geralt and Triss get onto the prison barge to question him, and find that his comrades were killed and he was wounded by the Kingslayer, now identified as Letho. Iorveth apparently didn't trust Letho, and Letho wasn't satisfied with the amount of support he was getting. He'd tried to persuade the elf to rise up against Iorveth. When this suggestion was refused, Letho had attacked them. The prisoner tells Geralt this in the hope that Geralt will pass on the message to Iorveth.

Geralt does just that, using Zoltan to make contact with the Scoia'tel, as it would be useful to drive a wedge between Iorveth and Letho. As he knows that Roche has strong views about Iorveth, Geralt chooses not to tell him about the meeting.

Iorveth listens, but he isn't convinced. He agrees to a test - he'll set up a meeting with Letho and pretend to be Geralt's prisoner. Hopefully, Letho will let slip something that proves it one way or another.

The meeting goes ahead and Letho falls into the trap and says more than he should. Unfortunately though, Roche had found out about the meeting and decided to set an ambush for Iorveth, attacking with the Blue Stripes and some of the town guards. Geralt is holding Iorveth's sword and has to make a snap decision - to give it back to Iorveth, or to keep it and help capture the elf. It's a decision with consequences.

Geralt doesn't immediately get to see how the ambush ends though, as he and Letho fall into the ruins below the meeting place. They fight, and Letho wins but doesn't kill him. Instead, he tells Geralt that he owes him a debt, but that next time it'll be different. He then leaves, his parting line being that he needs to get to Vergen before Iorveth can warn his men, and that he'll be needing Geralt's sorceress to do that.

Geralt races back to Flotsam, but is too late. Triss has disappeared and there's clear signs of a struggle. Witnesses confirm that Letho took her.

Geralt also now needs to get to Vergen fast. That means by boat, and he has two choices, but both come with a price. The Scoia'tel offer to take him there, but they don't have a boat, so he'll need to help them capture the prison barge. (And, if he helped Roche earlier, rescue Iorveth, who is being held captive on the barge). Roche has a boat, but he and Geralt had discovered earlier that Loredo was planning to betray Temeria and hand Flotsam over to another kingdom. Roche wants Loredo dead and the matter resolved before they leave.

Geralt makes his choice and does what's requested, after which he sails to Vergen, but his decision changes everything.

If Geralt chose Roche
If Geralt chose Iorveth

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

Chapter 2 - Roche Path

Vergen is a town with a large population of dwarfs, but also a fair number of humans and elves. It's currently part of Aedirn, but was once part of Kaedwen, and Henselt, the king of Kaedwen, has taken advantage of Demavend's death to raise an army with the intention of attacking it. As Roche and Geralt arrive at his army camp, Henselt is meeting with Vergen's leaders nearby in the hope that they'll surrender. The meeting turns to bloodshed, and the killing of a priest seems to be the trigger for a magical event - the meeting place and the surrounding area become filled with a mist in which a ghostly army fights an eternal battle.

Roche and Geralt have raced to the meeting place, and, together with Henselt's mage advisor, Dethmold, they get Henselt to safety.

Henselt agrees to let Roche and his men set up camp outside the main army camp. Geralt is invited in as Henselt needs his assistance, the ghostly battlefield is impenetrable and is stopping him from invading Vergen. Geralt agrees, even though he may not support Henselt's plans, because the area affected is clearly spreading and may be a danger to all.

Geralt works on finding the means to destroy the battlefield mist, at the same time trying to find Letho and Triss and doing standard witcher work, including helping Henselt remove another curse. He discovers that Letho and Triss were seen in the area, but they're not to be found. Sile, the sorceress he met in Flotsam, is also at the camp and apparently helping Henselt, for reasons that she's unwilling to share.

At one point, he crosses the mist, with help from Dethmold, and meets with Saskia, the leader of the Vergen army. He needs help from her to clear the mist. She agrees, recognising that it has to be done, even though it leaves Vergen open to attack. As he comes back to the camp, he meets Roche and his men, who tell him that they've just had a skirmish with a group of Nilfgaardian soldiers, who also have a camp outside the main stockade. They noticed that the soldiers were carrying a miniature statuette that looked remarkably like Triss.

Geralt and the Blue Stripes rush to the Nilfgaardian camp, but find the gates empty and the camp abandoned. Fortunately, Roche knows that they were heading for Loc Muinne, but Geralt won't be able to take any action on it until he's finished his work in Vergen.

One night, there's an attack on the camp by two witchers, who are there to assassinate Henselt. Geralt, with help from Sile, stops the assassination, killing one of the witchers. The other escapes. Dethmold is able to use magic to recover the final memories of the dead witcher, which Geralt relives. From this, he finds that Letho was in the area but has also left for Loc Muinne. He also discovers that Sile was their employer, and therefore presumably behind the assassinations.

Geralt then goes to the witchers' hideout to find the second witcher, but Sile had got there first, and the witcher is near death and talks only briefly of his time with Geralt and Letho in the past.

Geralt finishes getting what he needs to clear the mist, and goes back in to finish the job. He's successful, but left unconscious on the battlefield, where Dandelion finds him. It takes several days for him to regain consciousness, and Henselt has now launched his attack on Vergen. Dandelion has other news that's worrying.

Some of Geralt's activities had drawn Dethmold and Henselt's attention to a conspiracy within the camp. Henselt has now found out that the conspiracy was led by Roche, who had been working with dissidents for years to bring Henselt down.

Dandelion knows where Roche is meeting the major conspirators, and Geralt goes to warn him. The meeting breaks up, the other conspirators decide to give up and join Henselt, and Geralt and Roche race back to the camp because the Blue Stripes are at risk. They're too late, the Kaedwenis have hanged the Blue Stripes, leaving Ves, Roche's female lieutenant, as the only survivor.

Roche is determined to get revenge on Henselt and to find Sile, and he and Geralt head to Vergen, which Henselt has successfully taken. Sile has already teleported to Loc Muinne, but Geralt manages to trap Henselt alone, and then has the choice whether to talk Roche out of killing Henselt, or just stand by and let Roche get his revenge.

After this, with nothing keeping them in Vergen, the two head to Loc Muinne.

Chapter 3 - Roche Path

In Loc Muinne, Geralt and Roche discover that Triss is being held by the Nilfgaardians. They also arrange a meeting with Radovid, the king of Redania, and find from him that Anais, one of the children of Foltest, is in the custody of Dethmold. Unfortunately, there isn't time for Geralt to get involved in both rescue operations, so he needs to choose.

If he helps Roche to rescue Anais, Roche will kill Dethmold in the process. Anais may be passed either to Radovid or to a trusted Temerian leader, John Natalis, for safekeeping.

Geralt then goes to the meeting being held in Loc Muinne, a summit attended by kings and others intended mainly to decide whether or not to set up a new Council of Mages, and to make various decisions or announcements based on the recent conflicts and royal deaths in Temeria, Aedirn and, possibly, Kaedwen. One of the decisions to be made is the formation of a Council of Mages. As the discussion on the Council starts, the meeting is interrupted.

If Geralt has rescued Triss, she interrupts the meeting, denouncing Sile and those other sorceresses she believes responsible for the assassinations. If Triss is still a captive, the interruption is by the Nilfgaardians, who have Letho with them, apparently as a prisoner. He confesses to the murders, but in doing so claims that the conspiracy involved far more than just a few sorceresses, the accusations are enough to start a witch hunt against all magic-users.

Turmoil breaks out at the meeting. The troops move in to take Sile and she responds by calling down a dragon (the one from the Prologue) to destroy everyone. She then disappears.

Geralt goes after the dragon. It's at the top of a tower, and as he climbs it, he meets Sile, who is about to teleport out of danger. Before she goes, she tells him that the Lodge of Sorceresses, like Iorveth, had been duped by Letho, who was following orders from Nilfgaard. The Lodge had wanted Demavend killed, but not the other kings. She had been in Flotsam to try to find Letho, and in Vergen to protect Henselt.

Geralt may choose to let Sile die, but whatever his decision, afterwards he climbs the tower and fights the dragon. He wins, but may choose to let the wounded dragon live, as Witchers don't usually kill dragons.

Epilogue - Roche Path

Afterwards, he returns into the city and meets up with either Roche or Triss. Letho is apparently waiting for him, so he goes to the final meeting. (If he rescued Anais earlier, Triss is also there. Letho has kept her safe after the revelation about the Lodge, and now hands her to Geralt).

Geralt also hears the news that Nilfgaard has invaded the Northern Kingdoms.

Letho has a long conversation with Geralt, during which he confirms that he was working for the Nilfgaardians and that he duped both the Lodge and Iorveth to turn them into allies. He also gives Geralt more information on his past. Geralt may fight him, or just walk away, warning Letho to stay away from him in the future. He then leaves Loc Muinne to continue his adventures.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

Chapter 2 - Iorveth Path

After stealing the boat (and rescuing Iorveth if necessary), Geralt sets sail with them for Vergen. This is a town with a large population of dwarfs, but also a fair number of humans and elves. It's currently part of Aedirn, but was once part of Kaedwen. For some time, it's been in a state of revolt with Aedirn, led by a charismatic leader, Saskia the Dragonslayer, who is looking for independence for the region. She has a vision of a country where all races will be equal. Iorveth is a great admirer and had already set up bases there ready to join her campaign.

Recently though, Henselt, the king of Kaedwen, has taken advantage of Demavend's death to raise an army with the intention of attacking Vergen. The rebels have formed an uneasy alliance with the Aedirnian nobility to work together to stop this bigger threat. Demavend's son, Stennis, is also there, hoping that a victory will reinforce his claim on the Aedirnian throne.

As Iorveth and Geralt arrive at Vergen, Saskia and Stennis are meeting with Henselt to thwart an attempt by some of the nobility to surrender. The meeting turns to bloodshed, and the killing of a priest seems to be the trigger for a magical event - the meeting place and the surrounding area becomes filled with a mist in which a ghostly army fights an eternal battle.

Iorveth and Geralt have raced to the meeting place, and together with Philippa, a sorceress advising Saskia, they get Saskia and Stennis to safety.

Saskia welcomes both Geralt and Iorveth at a strategy meeting in Vergen, even though some of the other leaders are uncomfortable about Iorveth's presence. Unfortunately, she's poisoned at the meeting. The poison doesn't kill her, but she's left in a comatose state.

Geralt works on finding the means to destroy the battlefield mist, at the same time trying to find Letho and Triss and a cure for Saskia. He discovers that Letho and Triss were seen in the area, but they're not to be found.

The investigation into Saskia's poisoning leads to a strong suspicion that Stennis was responsible. Geralt must decide whether to allow the locals to kill Stennis or not.

Philippa tells Geralt that she may have detected Triss on the other side of the mist. He crosses the mist with Philippa's help. When Geralt arrives on the far side of the mist he finds a dead body carrying a statuette that looks important. He also meets Roche, who tells him that that the only place he hasn't been able to check out is a Nilfgaardian encampment (The Nilfgaardian Ambassador is visiting Henselt). Geralt makes his way to the encampment.

Unfortunately, when he arrives he's captured by them. The Nilfgaardian Ambassador takes the statuette from him and reveals that it's actually Triss, compressed. The Nilfgaardians then leave the camp to go to Loc Muinne, their mage and a few soldiers staying behind to execute Geralt.

Luckily, Roche has been monitoring what's happened and he and his female lieutenant, Ves, rescue Geralt. If Stennis is still alive, Roche now helps Geralt sneak into Henselt's tent, as he needs help from Henselt to clear the mist. Henselt agrees, as the mist is stopping his invasion plans.

Geralt finds the cure for Saskia and also finishes getting what he needs to clear the mist, going back in to finish the job. He's successful, but left unconscious on the battlefield, where Philippa finds him. It takes some time for him to regain consciousness and he awakes just as news comes in that Henselt has launched his attack.

Geralt takes part in the battle, fighting alongside the people of Vergen. During a break in the battle, he and Saskia go to investigate some tunnels that may be used by the invaders. During this side-mission, they're attacked by men led by Dethmold, Henselt's mage, and in saving Geralt, Saskia changes form, revealing herself to be the dragon from the Prologue. Dethmold also sees her change, and flees.

They return to Vergen, where the defending army is victorious, but Saskia acts strangely during Henselt's surrender, leaving most of the talking to Philippa, who demands that Dethmold be executed on the spot for "War Crimes" (the use of magic during the battle). After this, Saskia and Philippa leave immediately for Loc Muinne, where Saskia hopes to ratify her claim over the region.

Iorveth and Geralt are both puzzled by Saskia's behaviour and go to Philippa's house to investigate. They discover evidence that the cure for Saskia's poisoning included an extra ingredient, that is allowing Philippa to use mind control over Saskia.

Geralt and Iorveth hurriedly leave for Loc Muinne.

Chapter 3 - Iorveth Path

In Loc Muinne, Geralt and Iorveth discover that Philippa has been captured by Radovid, the king of Redania, who is upset that she left his service to go and work with Saskia. Iorveth wishes to rescue Philippa and force her to say how to lift the spell on Saskia. Geralt gets into the dungeon area, where he also finds the Nilfgaardian Ambassador, who was visiting the cells. He now has a choice - he can continue with the plan to take Philippa, or he can take the Ambassador hostage and use him to get into the Nilfgaardian enclave and free Triss. But he can't do both.

If he helps Iorveth capture Philippa, she reveals the cure and gives them the means to do it, but then escapes.

Geralt then goes to the meeting being held in Loc Muinne, a summit attended by kings and others intended mainly to decide whether or not to set up a new Council of Mages, and to make various decisions or announcements based on the recent conflicts and royal deaths in Temeria and Aedirn. One of the decisions to be made is the formation of a Council of Mages. As the discussion on the Council starts, the meeting is interrupted.

If Geralt has rescued Triss, she interrupts the meeting, denouncing those sorceresses she believes responsible for the assassinations, including Philippa. If Triss is still a captive, the interruption is by the Nilfgaardians, who have Letho with them, apparently as a prisoner. He confesses to the murders, but in doing so claims that the conspiracy involved far more than just a few sorceresses, the accusations are enough to start a witch hunt against all magic-users.

Turmoil breaks out at the meeting. The troops move in to take Sile, one of those accused, and she responds by calling down Saskia in her dragon form to destroy everyone. Sile then disappears.

Geralt goes after Saskia. She's at the top of a tower, and as he climbs it he meets Sile, who is about to teleport out of danger. Before she goes, she tells him that the Lodge of Sorceresses, like Iorveth, had been duped by Letho, who was following orders from Nilfgaard. The Lodge had wanted Demavend killed, but not the other kings. She had been in Flotsam to try to find Letho.

Geralt may choose to let Sile die, but whatever his decision, afterwards he climbs the tower and fights Saskia in her dragon form. He wins, and, if he has the cure, uses it. If he doesn't have the cure he must choose whether or not to let her live.

Epilogue - Iorveth Path

Afterwards, he returns into the city and meets up with either Iorveth or Triss. Letho is apparently waiting for him, so he goes to the final meeting. (If he rescued Philippa earlier, Triss is also there. Letho has kept her safe after the revelation about the Lodge, and now hands her to Geralt).

Geralt also hears the news that Nilfgaard has invaded the Northern Kingdoms.

Letho has a long conversation with Geralt, during which he confirms that he was working for the Nilfgaardians and that he duped both the Lodge and Iorveth to turn them into allies. He also gives Geralt more information on his past. Geralt may fight him, or just walk away, warning Letho to stay away from him in the future. He then leaves Loc Muinne to continue his adventures.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

The backstory, as described in the games.

In The Witcher, Geralt is an amnesiac, with no knowledge of his past. He meets various friends from his past, but is encouraged by Triss to reinvent himself, so he doesn't try to recover his memories. All that we learn is that his friends think he died during a riot several years earlier (some saw it happen), that he had a special relationship with a sorceress, and a friend who was a vampire. Nobody knows what happened between then and him arriving in Kaer Morhen.

In The Witcher 2, he has a flashback of his "death" during the Prologue. From then on, one of his goals is to find out his own history. At various points, he has flashbacks, filling in the gaps, and his discussion with Letho at the end of the story fills in most of the rest.

During the riot, he and Yennefer, his sorceress lover, were both apparently fatally wounded, but they were whisked away by a mysterious ashen-haired girl. She took them to the Isle of Avallach, where they recovered from their wounds.
The Wild Hunt arrived, and Yennefer was captured by them. Geralt went to search for her, meeting up with Letho and his comrades while doing so. They found the Wild Hunt and Geralt negotiated a deal with the Hunt - himself for Yennefer. He was taken by the Wild Hunt, Yennefer was released and Letho agreed to care for her.

Nothing is known of what happened to Geralt while he was with the Hunt, and how he escaped, but it seems as though they were the ones chasing him when he was found at Kaer Morhen at the beginning of The Witcher.

Letho continued to look after Yennefer who, like Geralt, was amnesiac. Eventually, they were captured by the Nilfgaardians. Yennefer was still in Nilfgaard when Letho left to start his mission, but well cared for and not in immediate danger.

 

[dragonbird]

The Witcher 1 / Witcher 2 Story (WARNING - NON-STOP SPOILERS)

The story as told in TW1 and TW2.

Do NOT read any further if you haven't played the games but plan to one day.

Doesn't contain book spoilers.

If you want more detail on the characters and places mentioned, or on the quests described (and on those NOT described), the best place to look would be the wiki.

Witcher 1
Witcher 2
Backstory as revealed in the games