Don’t be confused by the word “Epilogue”, this might as well be Chapter 6. Sure, most of the questing, meaningful NPC interaction, and loot-gathering is done, and we’re certainly not going to be making Geralt any stronger. You might level up a bit, but if you’re like me, these levels are all above 50, and have no talents to go with them. You’re not getting any stronger swords, or any of that. This is pure story resolution.

But don’t let that fool you into complacency, some rough battles lie ahead, and while much of this chapter has a “resolution gallery” feel to it, we’re also genuinely dealing with the Grand Master. If our goals were to unravel Salamandra, recover the Witcher’s secrets stolen from Kaer Morhen, and learn the whys of the conspiracy, this is where we’ll do it.

Watch a cutscene showing the Grand Master dealing with the outcome of the battle. Count de Wett is dead, and Geralt has foiled his scheme to bring shame upon Foltest via Adda and her affliction-one way or another. The Grand Master recognizes Geralt as the one major obstacle that needs to be removed-and will send some mutants to take care of the problem.

The Kings Favor¶

When you arrive by boat Dandelion will chat with you, gushing with bardly silliness about the momentous time in which we live. Your ally will also interject. Siegfried will insist that good knights of the Order still exist, and we should talk to King Foltest to do some damage control before the whole Order is ruined. Yaevinn espies this as a wonderful time to make an alliance with the king, after all, his Scoia’tael control Old Vizima… and besides, he’ll need to be on friendly terms with the king if he’s to make it out of the Temple Quarter safely. Triss for her part, just hurries Dandelion along. The quest “The Ashes of Vizima” begins.

Talk to King Foltest, who is in the midst of discussing future politics with Radovid. Good news! You get to deal with more politics, and tell Foltest the fate of his daughter! Or maybe that’s not such good news, depending.

If you sided with the Order, Geralt will stand up for him and his fellow knights who aren’t corrupt bastards. Foltest will tone down the scope of his Order purge and name Siegfried as the new Grand Master of the soon-to-be-reformed Order of the Flaming Rose.

If you sided with the Scoia’tael, Geralt will lay all the blame at the feet of the Order, and Foltest and Yaevinn will come to a pathetic truce-partial amnesty and a temporary blind eye while Yaevinn escapes? Well, it doesn’t look like the nonhuman issue is really going to improve much.

If you remained neutral, Triss will wrangle for a position in Foltest’s court-The Lodge of Sorceresses was once banished from Temeria, but Triss-riding on Geralt’s success effectively reconciled the two sides.

Finally, if you slew Adda, Foltest will not be happy… more resigned. Radovid, on the other hand, will be quite angry. If you saved Adda, however, the two northern kingdoms will unite, and everybody will live happily ever after… unless, of course, you play the Witcher 2. But that’s another guide for another time.

The Grand Master is a wanted man, by all sides still standing. Geralt will protest about not being an assassin… before realizing that he intends to kill him anyways, and accepts to do so for 8000 Orens. What’s better than revenge? Getting rich while getting revenge. This completes the quest ‘Her Highness the Striga’, and updates “The Ashes of Vizima” and “Witchers’ Secrets” .

Head west to find Dandelion, who will babble poetry. This is your last chance to visit your stash in the entire game.. as long as you have your potions, swords, and armor, however, you’re fine. You really don’t need anything else. If you think you might need more potions, by all means, grab more alcohol or ingredients, but if you made the potions I suggested in Chapter 5, you should still have plenty. Note that your companion from the Old Manor will accompany you through much of the Epilogue-Triss, if you are neutral, Siegfried, if you are Order-aligned, and Yaevinn, if you are Scoia-tael-aligned.

Resolution¶

Past Dandelion, head north along the road behind St. Lebioda’s Hospital. When you reach the east-west road leading to the market, you will run into some knights of the Order and some mutants. This encounter varies, depending upon your politics.

If you sided with the Order, Siegfried will express some doubts about fighting his brothers, but these doubts prove shallow. After the fight, Siegfried will condemn the Grand Master, resolved in his desire to put him down. If you were neutral, or sided with the Scoia’tael, Siegfried will be leading this group of knights and mutants. If you sided with the Scoia’tael, a fight is inevitable. If you were neutral, you can talk Siegfried out of a fight, or not. Pick a fight by picking option #1, and avoid one by picking option #2.

After dealing with that encounter, head west to find a refugee, who will invite you into a nearby house. Head inside and you’ll find plenty of old friends and enemies, all gathered here, against all probability. It’s just the game’s way of showing you a bit of resolution for some third-rate NPCs.

You’ll find the Resolute Girl from Murky Waters, a Novice Nun, who will tell you about Carmen and Vincent (or Carmen herself, if you killed Vincent. Turns out Carmen was the disowned daughter of the Reverend, from the Outskirts in Chapter 1. The Hermit from the fields outside of Murky Waters is also here, and he’ll tell you about the Wild Hunt. Vaska will be here, spouting her swamp nonesense, as will Golan Vivaldi, who will respond variously depending on how “Gold Rush” went. Last and least, the Reverend himself will be here, if you didn’t kill in him Chapter 1. Finally, talk to the refugee who invited you in, and he’ll tell you about a way to reach other houses through the basement. Wee. Loot a barrel for some alcohol, then head downstairs.

In the cellar, you’ll find Vetala, if you let him live. Loot a crate which contains some alcohol, Alchemist’s Powder, the book “Zeugl Vigor” , and a Key, among other goodies. It also contains the book “Ithlinne’s Prophecy” , which littered much of the rest of the game. Why mention it? Because of the upcoming story events. You’ll notice these final two walkthrough sections are named after lines of the prophecy. It’s me, synergizing with the game, and adding atmosphere. You know you like it.

When you’re done looting, go through the door into another cellar. Exterminate some undead (a Bruxa and two wraiths) and go up some stairs to reach another house. Loot another crate if you must have some Flint, then talk to the resident madman, who will tell you to go out the window.

Who’s more mad, a madman, or somebody who follows a madman’s advice? The answer is obvious-he is. It’s his name! Or perhaps it’s legitimately his name, with some unfortunate spelling. Back out in the streets you’ll get to enjoy another politically variable encounter. If you sided with the Scoia’tael, you’ll encounter some Temerian soldiers, who merely update you on the fighting. Well, isn’t that simple?

If you sided with the Order or remained neutral, however, you’ll encounter Yaevinn leading a band of Scoia’tael rebels. If you sided with the Order… well, let’s just say Yaevinn won’t be nice, and needs to be put down. If you remained neutral, Yaevinn will still blame you for Toruviel’s death, but Geralt will get a chance to respond. Picking option #1 will result in a fight, and picking option #2 will avoid one.

The Zeugl in the Sewers¶

Head west to encounter a group of mutants. Kill them, and if you’re neutral, Triss will speak to you. Apparently the only way to the monastery is through the sewers. Not so bad, we’ve crawled around down there when we were much less well-equipped. Unfortunately, Ultros… I mean, a Zeugl.. has made its home down there. Good thing we’re professional monster-slayers, what with all the monsters that just happen to fall in our path, eh? If you sided with the Scoia’tael or the Order, a wounded knight will give you a key to the sewers and warn you of the Zeugl. Continue west until further progress is impeded by flaming debris, then head into a house.

Loot a crate and rest at a fireplace if you must (why would you need to with the paltry opposition we’ve been facing?) Still, here’s you chance if you need to brew up any potions. For this fight, Swallow will come in handy, as it’s likely to be a lengthy engagement. Blizzard, however, should be avoided, as we can only attack our enemy at

certain times, and with the slow-down effect of Blizzard, we’d just end up standing around waiting for opportunities to attack.

When you’re ready, head downstairs to reach the Sewers. Head south and open a cage door. Any experienced RPGer will see the large room ahead and sigh. Boss fight is imminent. Enter the room (after giving your ally some stellar advice on fighting a Zeugl) and some tentacles will rise to block your way back.

This fight is simple-cut down several of the Zeugl’s tentacles and when the head pops up, attack that. When the head dies, you win. If you’re well-leveled and well-equipped, tentacles should fall to the Strong Silver Style in one attack. Four tentacles will provoke the head to emerge, and if you pull off a four-hit combo on the head each time, it should only take four appearances of the head (the head probably won’t sit around long enough for you to complete a full five-hit combo.) Use the Strong Silver Style on the head, and if the tentacles are advantageously clustered, you can be frisky and go for the Group Silver

Style. The only thing you need to worry about is Geralt getting stun-locked by the tentacles, but they do incidental damage, and Swallow should be enough to keep Geralt more or less untouched through the fight.

Loot the Zeugl head for Zeugl Venom -our last mutagen-and the Zeugl tentacles that kept us in this room for… Orens? Miserly tentacles. Continue east, then turn north to find a fireplace, near which is a body loaded with alcohol and rare ingredients. How convenient!

When you return to the surface, you’ll find a group of religitards praying. A cutscene will occur, your ally will comment, and Geralt will respond. It’s hard not to agree with Yaevinn here-leave it to the faithful to pray while the world burns around them. It is funny, however, that Geralt defends faith when it’s insulted by Yaevinn, but admits to being an atheist when asked by Siegfried to pray. He’s just being confrontational, is all.

Head up some stairs to the west, then travel along the road to the south. Kill a pair of Greater Brothers, and any other resistance that might stand between you and your objective. Finally, reach the Cloister and open the gates. Geralt will make up a bogus errand for Triss to go off on, while Siegfried and Yaevinn will both conveniently get injured. Looks like you’re going to have to fight the Grand Master alone.