Witcher - Assault on Khaer Morhen
Having played the third game before the first is an odd experience. When Geralt was rescued we met the other witchers and triss for the first time. And yet it feels like meeting old friends. I have already seen Geralt fight side by side with Vesemir and fall in love with Triss (I know, I know. It was the wrong decision. I am already sorry about it). But here we are seeing them all interact with each other for the first time. It does help, their relationships with each other feel. For example, Triss and Eskel quibble all the time while Vesemir gets annoyed at them. The player can feel they are comfortable being around each other. It is easy to see the familiarity, even if Geralt does not remember it. The good thing about playing Witcher now is knowing I will be getting a great story. I am much more willing to overlook the flaws of this game now because I have a better grasp of the setting and the characters. This world feels so lived in, so old and comfortable. Like an old pair of jeans. Maybe it is a little worn and frayed, but I know I will be relaxed when I wear it.
Conveniently, Geralt has amnesia so everything will have to be explained to him again. It is one of the oldest tropes in story telling (just take a look at the number of entries under Amnesiac Hero on TV Tropes). But I am ok with this as well. It is better than clunky dialogue that makes no sense in the context of the scene because every character in the story is already aware of the information.
Before Geralt could settle in and start recuperating, Khaer Morhen was attacked by the villagers. This assault caught the witchers by surprise. They had kept to themselves, and in return the nearby villagers had chosen to ignore them. As these people started breaking in, it was clear someone else was pulling the strings behind the scenes. These ordinary villagers walked invaded the keep with a giant monster. The kind only sorcerers would have been able to control. Vesemir could not think of what anyone would want from this place. Khaer Morhen had been a shadow of its former self ever since it was last attacked. There was nothing of value here for the sorcerers to get. Triss Merigold, being a sorceress herself, could understand their motivations much better. These people were here to steal the alchemical secrets of the Witchers.
The potions that transformed an ordinary human into a witcher granted special powers, like immunity to diseases, quick healing, and increased strength. It was not an easy transformation. Most people were not strong enough to withstand it. Their mind, body or both would break under the stress of the transformation. Even those who survived, became sterile. Geralt’s white hair was a direct result of the stress these potions put him through. All of this meant the schools of witchers guarded their potions with their lives. Lest they fall into wrong hands and cause havoc.
As bad as the frontal assault was, the worst was yet to come. The sorcerers had breached the keep and were about to get into the laboratory. Thankfully Triss was here. Without her, the three witchers did not stand a chance against the magic of these thieves. Even though Geralt could not remember who he was, swordsmanship was second nature to him. He had not forgotten how to fight. He picked up a sword to defend his home, even though he could not yet remember it. He easily fought off the unskilled villagers who were sent storming the keep and secured the courtyard.
Vesemir agreed with Merigold’s assessment that the thieves were going to be heading for the laboratory. He asked Triss, Leo and Geralt to stop the thieves from getting the potions, while he defended the keep with the other two witchers, Eskel and Lambert. Leo was not a witcher yet, but he was training to be one. Triss was strong enough to take care of the sorcerers with her magic. She would be needed to fight magic with her own magic.
As they made their way to the labs, another magician walked through the portal. Geralt told Triss to keep going while he stopped this one. With the one spell he remembered and a sword in hand, Geralt got ready to face this Salamandra wizard. It was a long and brutal fight but the Witcher emerged victorious. There was not enough time bask in the glow of the victory. Geralt made his way through the rubble only to find Triss incapacitated. There was not enough time to help her right now. The thieves were getting away.
Geralt and Leo got to the labs, but they were already too late. The mysterious man with the tattoos had what he came here to steal. He instructed the Professor to take care of the problem before leaving. The Professor put a bolt through Leo to keep Geralt occupied as he also stepped through the portal to make his escape.
The bolt was fatal, Leo did not survive his wounds. Triss was luckier, with the help some potions she recovered. There was nothing left at Khaer Morhen for the witchers anymore. They wanted to avenge the death of their friend and for that they would have to leave the safety of their home. The Witchers and the sorceress only stayed at the keep long enough to give Leo a proper funeral. At Vesemir’s suggestion they all split to cover more ground and find the mysterious man who had ransacked their home and killed their companion.
Geralt was to go south where the king of Temeria owed him for lifting the curse of Striga from his daughter, while the other chose their directions. It was just a few days ago Geralt had come back home and it was time to go again. It was a difficult goodbye for Triss. And once more Geralt was on his own ready to wander the Continent again.
I was sad to see Khaer Morhen in the dilapidated condition, but it is home. When Geralt was running through the keep gathering the ingredients for the potion we could see how much renovation this place needed. There are places here I recognize from future events, like the hall the three witchers sit and get drunk in. Even right at the beginning of the game, I was invested in this world enough, I was saddened to hear them leave the keep behind. I know they will come back here and protect it against another attack at the end of the trilogy, but that does not make abandoning it right now any easier. As for now, the witchers no longer have a home.
12-12-2020
