CHAPTER II (IORVETH) - SIDEQUESTS
Contents
- can'tseeme
- Prologue
- Chapter 1
- Chapter II (Iorveth) - Sidequests
[Geralt finds a man in a hut in the old quarry. The corner of his house is covered in yellow paint, with several buckets of the dye surrounding.]
ELTHON: Witcher? I might have some work for you...
GERALT: Did I hear you mention a job?
ELTHON: Indeed, one very much in your line. I know a collector in Vengerberg. He pays well for all kinds of monster-related curios.
GERALT: Arachas venom? Nekker hearts? Sounds doable.
ELTHON: Harpy feathers.
GERALT: Uh-huh. Why feathers?
ELTHON: I never asked. Got the order and that's that. Interested?
GERALT: What kind of coin are we talking about?
ELTHON: Why don't we do a test. Bring me a bundle of fine feathers, for which I'll pay you, and if we're both satisfied, we'll figure things out.
GERALT: He's gonna want more than a bundle? That'll mean a lot of traipsing around.
ELTHON: A few more, yes. So?
GERALT: I'll keep me eyes open, but no promises. I've got more important things to deal with.
[Geralt obtains twelve harpy feathers.]
GERALT: I've got your feathers.
ELTHON: Wonderful. Excellent quality, just what I needed. I'll pay for each and every one.
ELTHON: If you're in need of coin, just bring me more.
GERALT: Sorry, I'd have to be crazy. I know a few easier ways to make coin. See you.
ELTHON: Well, that's a shame...
GERALT: I suppose I've had to work harder for coin in the past. All right, I'll keep it in mind.
ELTHON: Excellent. I await your return.
GERALT: Harpies have become rare in this area.
ELTHON: I'm not sure I understand.
GERALT: Supply drops, prices rise.
ELTHON: By how much?
GERALT: Pay me one and half times as much, and we've got a deal.
ELTHON: You must be mad. I'll not give you that.
GERALT: Pay me twice, maybe three times as much, and we've got a deal.
ELTHON: You must be mad. I'll not give you that.
GERALT: Forget it, then. I'm a witcher who won't sell himself cheap.
ELTHON: Come back if you change your mind.
GERALT: You said this was witchers' work. So either agree to my rate, or find yourself another harpy specialist.
[Geralt obtains the sixty harpy feathers Elthon asks for.]
GERALT: More harpy feathers. Just like you wanted.
ELTHON: Good work - why it's even a pleasure to pay you.
GERALT: I gotta admit - that might've been the strangest job I've ever had.
ELTHON: Well, it's hardly done.
GERALT: No way I'm getting you more. Godspeed.
GERALT: I'll hear you out, but I've got a bad feeling about this.
ELTHON: I need a few more feathers...
GERALT: Who is it that needs them? You or this collector?
ELTHON: He does, of course.
GERALT: Pretty suspicious. Why didn't you tell me how many I was supposed to bring right off?
ELTHON: I... I needed to see the quality. Just a few feathers more. I'll pay extra. Decide.
GERALT: Let me think about it.
[Geralt collects the last eight feathers Elthon wants.]
GERALT: I've got some more feathers. Sleek and untattered. I hope that'll do it.
ELTHON: I'll look at them and select the finest. There's your payment, with a small bonus.
GERALT: What am I supposed to do with the ones I have left?
ELTHON: Whatever you wish. I've no need for them. Farewell.
[Geralt can return to Elthon's hut later... to find him dressed up in vividly yellow clothing, covered in yellow feathers and with a makeshift beak strapped to his face, talking to himself.]
ELTHON: Yeeeeess.... You're beautiful, my queen... My lady.... You're a wondrous sight... All in your nest envy you...
GERALT: I don't need this feather. Please take it.
GERALT: Hope I'm not interrupting...
GERALT: Got any other work for me?
[Elthon's mouth opens in shock. He appears speechless.]
GERALT: Pretty warm for this time of year.
ELTHON: It is colder, usually, isn't it.
GERALT: The mages must be up to something.
ELTHON: Oh yes, they devise those experiments, always changing the world. They'll botch it one day, and it'll be the end of us, I tell you.
GERALT: I shudder to even think about it.
GERALT: I want you to have this feather. I have no use for it.
ELTHON: No thank you. Neither do I.
GERALT: Neither does this collector, you mean.
ELTHON: Yes, yes, Neither does he.
GERALT: I wonder why he needed a specific number of feathers.
ELTHON: Perhaps to match the number of empty spaces in his... feather album?
GERALT: Don't see how that would matter.
ELTHON: It's immensely important!
GERALT: Well, I guess I don't know much about collections...
[When Geralt leaves the hut, he finds a fake beak of the same type as Elthon's in his inventory.]
[Ele'yas is waiting for Geralt outside of the inn.]
ELE'YAS: I must talk to you, witcher.
GERALT: What's going on?
ELE'YAS: I'm Ele'yas, of Iorveth's commando. I have an urgent matter.
GERALT: Tell me.
ELE'YAS: Men from Vergen have been disappearing for some time. We recently found some of their corpses. So it doesn't seem to be desertion.
GERALT: Only men among the victims?
ELE'YAS: Young men. Humans and elves.
GERALT: Where did you find the bodies?
ELE'YAS: In different places, mainly in the burned village near the ravine that leads to the town.
GERALT: I need to see the corpses.
ELE'YAS: They're all buried.
GERALT: Where?
ELE'YAS: Beneath a mound in the forest behind Vergen. But you shouldn't go there.
GERALT: Why not?
ELE'YAS: Desecrating graves is a serious offence. The families of the dead will be furious.
GERALT: What state were the bodies in?
ELE'YAS: They looked gruesome... Nothing an elf would have done. Nor a human.
GERALT: I don't work for free.
ELE'YAS: You'll get your reward. Do well, and I may give you something more than coin. We're losing good men.
GERALT: I'll see what I can do.
[Geralt purchases Surgical Tools from sorceress Felicia Cori in the square, and goes to investigate. In the burned village he finds a dead body.]
GERALT: Strange. I smell sulfur.
[Later, while Geralt is in the catacombs looking for the Dun Banner standard, he finds a corpse unlike the others.]
GERALT: This corpse is fresh. Someone brought it here recently.
GERALT: Clothing ripped in many places...
GERALT: Hmm... Traces of sulfur.
GERALT: Interesting... the head's in far better condition than the rest of the body...
GERALT: Dark rings around the eyes, like an anemic.
GERALT: Just a few delicate bites on his neck...
GERALT: The forearms are cut up pretty badly, as if he had to defend himself.
GERALT: There's something embedded in the bone...
GERALT: I can't extract that without special tools.
GERALT: A metal splinter... Interesting...
GERALT: He's grasping a few long hairs in his hand.
GERALT: Fingernail marks all over his back... Huh. At least he had some fun before he died...
GERALT: Hm, a book?
GERALT: "Your body sizzled 'neath my gentle caress..." Sounds like Master Dandelion...
GERALT: He was young, just like the others. All the clues seem to indicate a succubus.
GERALT: On the other hand, there's a metal fragment in the wound...
[Geralt goes to talk to Dandelion about the book.]
DANDELION: Good thing you're here, Geralt. A rhyme for “wonder”?
GERALT: I'm no poet.
DANDELION: I know, but you have good ideas sometimes.
GERALT: Yonder?
DANDELION: Good!
GERALT: Writing a sonnet for your new muse?
DANDELION: Better than that. I'm composing an anthem for Vergen. Want to hear the first version?
GERALT: No.
DANDELION: Listen...
DANDELION: May those who dream of freedom arise. Seeing the sight of liberty with their eyes.
DANDELION: Let us go together, become our brother. The choice is yours, you know there's no other.
DANDELION: How far shall we venture, in this great wonder? Elf, dwarf and human set forth together yonder...
DANDELION: Like it?
GERALT: It rhymes, kind of...
DANDELION: All right, then. Tell me what you discovered.
GERALT: I found a volume of your poetry.
DANDELION: My love poems! Some bastard stole them recently. Probably wanted to show off to a young lass smelling of sheepskins. I really missed this book. It was like being in a brothel with no balls. I owe you one, Geralt, though I don't know quite how I'll repay you...
DANDELION: No... Actually, I do know. Up for a shot of vodka? It's on me.
GERALT: I've got a better idea.
DANDELION: Beer? That's fine. All the same to me.
GERALT: I need you to do me a favor.
DANDELION: Name it. For this, I'd give you my chastity. If I still had it, of course.
GERALT: I wouldn't be interested.
DANDELION: Don't tell me you need another poem for a noonwraith.
GERALT: Worse.
DANDELION: Please, Geralt... Don't get me involved in another messy monster matter. I'm an artist, not...
GERALT: That's precisely who I need to lure a succubus.
DANDELION: Are you crazy? You want to see a hoofed hag ride me to death? On the other hand... we all have to die of something.
GERALT: Go to the burned down village after dark and wait for me there.
[Geralt meets Dandelion in the village at midnight.]
DANDELION: Can we go? I can't wait to meet this monstrous beauty.
GERALT: Her beauty's killed several men.
DANDELION: Now you tell me?
GERALT: Like my friend Dandelion says, "We all have to die of something." I'll have my eye on you at all times.
DANDELION: So will she.
GERALT: Don't let her kiss you.
DANDELION: I don't usually deny women foreplay... but I'll do my best.
GERALT: Let's do this.
[Geralt walks into the bushes, and Dandelion pulls out his lute.]
DANDELION: Ahem... Well... well, how shall we begin?
[Dandelion must play a song for the succubus from the book of poetry Geralt found on the victim's body. If he gets the options wrong, she won't come out; if he gets them wrong enough times, he'll give up and go back to Geralt.]
DANDELION: If you wish, my love, at my side to repose...
DANDELION: We'd admire our virtues, me yours, and you mine...
DANDELION: I could pet your cheeks, you might twiddle my nose...
DANDELION: My heart would inquire of your hands pale and fine...
DANDELION: If they'd grasp it gently, to hold like a rose...
DANDELION: Or grasp me elsewhere and leave me satisfied?
DANDELION: No, that didn't come out right...
DANDELION: Argh... Pearls before swine, I swear...
DANDELION: I'll tell you one thing, Geralt: that succubus knows true art about as well as Zoltan knows table manners.
DANDELION: If our bodies could a song compose...
DANDELION: My heart would inquire of your hands pale and fine...
DANDELION: If they'd grasp it gently, to hold like a rose...
DANDELION: Or treat it as a morsel upon which to dine?
SUCCUBUS: Who are you, gorgeous one?
DANDELION: I'm a poet, m'Lady. I've come to praise your unearthly beauty, if you'll do me the honor of revealing your full self.
SUCCUBUS: Indeed... I shall reveal to you all my splendors. Prepare more than your eyes - I'm a feast for all the senses. Come with me for the adventure of your life, fair poet...
[A trapdoor in the ground opens up.]
DANDELION: I should get Geralt. On the other hand... I've never ploughed a succubus.
SUCCUBUS: I'm sssoooo unsatisfied...
SUCCUBUS: Lovers who compose poems praising my virtues - ah, delightful. But I've never had a true poet perform for me.
DANDELION: She showed me her secret den...
GERALT: Thanks. I'll take it from here.
DANDELION: I feel like a pimp. At least let me watch.
GERALT: Save your strength for real women, Dandelion.
DANDELION: Damn, and it all looked so promising...
[Geralt sends Dandelion back to the tavern.]
GERALT: Fucking idiot actually went in!
GERALT: I got him into this mess, I'd better get the fool out.
[Geralt enters the succubus' lair.]
SUCCUBUS: Mmm hm hm hm... I don't remember inviting you, Geralt of Rivia...
GERALT: Let Dandelion go!
SUCCUBUS: Ha, ha, ha... You mean you won't join us? He's come to no harm. On the contrary, he seems very happy.
GERALT: How do you know my name?
SUCCUBUS: I know a lot about you... You know how to satisfy women. I can make a man forget his worries and surrender to pure pleasure. You'll be well satisfied, I promise.
GERALT: Like all the other men you murdered?
SUCCUBUS: I've murdered no one! All who followed me... experienced unearthly pleasures.
GERALT: You devour their energy like a swine gobbles spuds.
SUCCUBUS: I need their vital energies. I have no use for corpses.
GERALT: What will you do with Dandelion?
SUCCUBUS: I shall show you my intentions are pure. I'll release him when he wakes.
GERALT: So if it wasn't you, who killed those young men?
SUCCUBUS: I can seduce anyone and hold them spellbound for as long as I wish. nfortunately, one fool fell madly in love with me. Unable to accept my nature, he's killing my lovers.
GERALT: Who's this lover of yours?
SUCCUBUS: A beautiful elf named Ele'yas.
GERALT: He asked me to investigate the murders.
SUCCUBUS: His way of throwing you off his scent. Luckily, you're no fool.
GERALT: The very reason I think you're trying to throw me off your scent.
SUCCUBUS: Did he show you the victims' bodies?
GERALT: He told me they were buried.
SUCCUBUS: Ehm. By him. Yet he massacred the corpses first, to make it seem as if beasts had attacked the poor souls. I'm content to have you looking into the matter. Just be sure to see it through.
GERALT: Why should I help you?
SUCCUBUS: I want men to know that I give pleasure in return for their energy, but I don't take their lives. Mmmm... Besides, I can give you something far better than orens...
GERALT: You lie! You'll never torture anyone to death again!
SUCCUBUS: I was hoping we'd have another kind of fun.
[Geralt kills the succubus.]
GERALT: I'll talk to him, then I'll come back.
SUCCUBUS: I hope we can seal our friendship then.
DANDELION: What happened?
GERALT: You're an idiot. Didn't follow my instructions again. The succubus cast a spell on you.
DANDELION: What happened to her?
GERALT: She's dead. Go back to town. It's not safe here - for you.
[Whether he kills her or not, Geralt returns to the tavern to talk to Ele'yas.]
GERALT: I found a succubus in the burned village. It was doing the killing.
ELE'YAS: Is she dead?
GERALT: She is.
ELE'YAS: I promised you a reward and I keep my word. Here are your orens. And take this sword, may it serve you well. Goodbye, witcher...
GERALT: I found the succubus.
ELE'YAS: Did you kill her?
GERALT: She claims you're the murderer.
ELE'YAS: You were supposed to kill the monster, not chat with it.
GERALT: I know what I'm supposed to do.
ELE'YAS: I don't think so, not if you believed her.
GERALT: You lied to me. You knew a succubus had made its lair in the burned down village.
ELE'YAS: I did. I thought you'd refuse to help me if I told you.
GERALT: You're right. I don't help murderers.
ELE'YAS: That is pure nonsense! I killed no one!
GERALT: Liar. You fell in love with her and murdered your competitors. Succubi aren't exactly the most faithful partners.
ELE'YAS: True, I love her. But the rest is hogwash.
GERALT: If I'd killed the succubus, no more men would have perished, and you'd have gotten away with it.
ELE'YAS: You don't understand! She manipulated me like she's manipulating you!
GERALT: Iorveth will learn of this. You'll hang for your crimes.
ELE'YAS: You're mad... I'm innocent...
GERALT: If you loved her, as she claims, you wouldn't want to kill her.
ELE'YAS: What will you do now?
GERALT: I'll visit the succubus again.
ELE'YAS: Be careful.
GERALT: The succubus is dead.
ELE'YAS: Thank you... I'm glad you did not give her story credence. The world is much better off without that whore.
ELE'YAS: I promised you a reward and I keep my word. Here are your orens. And take this sword, may it serve you well. Goodbye, witcher...
[Geralt goes to inform Iorveth.]
IORVETH: Greetings, Gwynbleidd.
GERALT: Your Scoia'tael, Ele'yas, is murdering people from Vergen.
IORVETH: Any proof? Ele'yas is one of my best warriors.
GERALT: No.
IORVETH: Come back when you have some.
GERALT: I found a splinter from a blade in one of the bodies. Compare it to Ele'yas's weapons.
IORVETH: I'll see to it.
[Iorveth leaves to do so, then returns.]
IORVETH: Ele'yas must have learned that I know the truth about his madness. He's fled the city.
[Geralt returns to the burned village. Ele'yas leaps out at him.]
ELE'YAS: I'll not be put down like some dog! Fight!
[Geralt kills Ele'yas, then descends to see the succubus.]
SUCCUBUS: I'm pleased you put an end to that fool's torment. You'll be blissfully rewarded... Disrobe and relax...
GERALT: As tempting as others might find you, I think I'll pass. On the sex, of course. Got anything else for me?
SUCCUBUS: Oh, what a shame... But it will be as you wish.
[Geralt and the succubus have sex.]
SUCCUBUS: In the box by the bed I left you a small... gift. Something to remember me by... Goodbye, witcher...
[Geralt collects his reward from the chest and departs.]