This is a non-commercial fanfic based on the universes of The Witcher and Disco Elysium. All rights to the original works, characters, names, and elements of their respective worlds belong to their respective copyright holders. The author of this fanfic does not claim ownership of any of them. Age rating: rated R (18+). The text contains profanity, alcohol, fictional drugs, violence, and other themes intended for an adult audience.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Journals
NARRATOR – …An infinite amount of time passes. You come to lying on a bed like a corpse hastily shoved into a coffin — except someone forgot to close the lid.
FORTITUDE [Challenging: Failure] – Every movement sends savage pain through your body. Better not to move. Preferably for the next couple of months.
NARRATOR – You slowly open your eyes and look around. It seems to be the same room in the Shaggy Bear that was wrecked a few days ago — only now it looks unusually clean.
BRAWN [Medium: Failure] – No, this simply won’t do. Get up at once and wreck the place all over again! The room has clearly lost its lived-in charm — time to restore the usual coziness!
NARRATOR – A scrawny figure is sitting beside the bed. You lift your head slightly and squint.
KEEN EYE [Trivial: Failure] – Who’s that? Looks like a halfling or a gnome. Rosie, perhaps?
RUNE – Your Bedouin’s croaked.
NARRATOR – Struggling to focus your eyes, you recognize Rune — the redheaded runt who was always hanging around the vacant lot with his friend.
REFLEX [Easy: Success] – Wait, what did he just say?..
YOU – What? Vernon?! No… Oh gods, no…
NARRATOR – The despair on your face must be so absolute that the boy throws up his hands and hurriedly explains.
RUNE – Hey, I was just fucking with you! Fuck, Rune talks a lot of shit sometimes… Roche got roughed up a little, but he’s off somewhere doing business now. Said he’d be back soon. Asked me to babysit you for a bit.
ARTISTRY [Challenging: Failure] – Right. Of course. You are definitely dead and have somehow ended up in another world, where a foul-mouthed twelve-year-old is nursing a senile century-old witcher back to health. Nothing like this could possibly happen in the “normal” world.
CODEX [Impossible: Failure] – There is a perfectly reasonable explanation. Everything changed on the night you and Kalkstein drank yourselves into such a state that you somehow managed to distort space-time itself. You are now reaping the consequences of that reckless act.
YOU – Wait, you really stayed here by my bed?
RUNE – Well who the fuck else was gonna do it?! King Rune doesn’t abandon his subjects — not even drunken wrecks like you.
NARRATOR – The boy proudly folds his arms across his chest. After a moment, he adds in a different tone.
RUNE – Besides, you stood up for the ghetto even though Korda brought way more of those assholes with him. Rune respects that kind of shit!
NARRATOR – He thumps a fist against his chest.
RUNE – Anyway, it’s all good… I was hanging around here last night too, while you were delirious and babbling some nonsense about a kestrel and anemones… What the hell are those, anyway?
YOU – I… don’t know…
NARRATOR – You try to gather your thoughts and piece together recent events.
UMBRA [Challenging: Success] – You had a wild dream about a sorrowful goddess of the night and her black bird. And about your medallion forgetting how to speak.
HORRIFIC MEDALLION – Huh?! What kind of fucked-up dreams are you having, kumpel?
YOU – W-well…
HORRIFIC MEDALLION – Though I think I know what’s wrong: we haven’t properly cut loose in days! Time for another round of philosophical debate with Kalkstein — the kind that makes reality crack the FUCK in half! That’ll clear your head.
YOU – Rune, what actually happened? I remember Korda shooting me…
RUNE – Yeah, that’s right! I was sitting on the shed roof — you could see fucking everything from up there. You threw that dagger into the wall like a complete idiot, then caught a bullet. But deflecting that bolt? That was fucking awesome! You gonna teach me how to do that?!
YOU – And then?.. I think someone stabbed me in the stomach…
RUNE – Ha, stabbed doesn’t even cover it. Some idiot damn near skewered you straight through. Anyway, Roche and the one-eyed freak dragged you over to the fountain. Your Bedouin started clucking over you like a mother hen… Then that bastard Korda sneaked up from behind and tried to take him out like a fucking rat. But Roche was ready for him — grabbed your sword and wham! Slashed Korda across the neck so hard he damn near took his head off!
DOMINANCE [Easy: Success] – Yes… You warned Vernon about the danger just in time. Another second and—
YOU – But after that, I don’t remember anything…
RUNE – Oh, that’s when shit really went off the rails!
NARRATOR – Clearly getting carried away with the story, the boy is practically shouting now. The coherence of his account suffers somewhat as a result.
RUNE – Once they saw their big racist boss go down, some of his lackeys dropped their pitchforks and axes and ran for it. So then it was just the really hardcore assholes left. They started yelling and charging straight at the nonhumans… It turned into one hell of a fucking brawl!
NARRATOR – Suddenly, the door flies open. A man in a turban and blue doublet enters the room, limping on his right leg.
VERNON ROCHE – It really was one hell of a fucking brawl. Thank you for sitting with him, Rune. You see, witcher, we’ve been taking turns keeping watch by your bed. You were unconscious for three days.
NARRATOR – You sit up sharply.
FORTITUDE [Challenging: Failure] – Goddamn, easy… Everything already hurts like hell.
YOU – Vernon, you’re all right after all! Tell me, how did it end?
VERNON ROCHE – Yes, I’m more or less all right, though some bearded fellow managed to slash my leg with a sickle. Had to get it stitched up. As for everyone else…
NARRATOR – He lowers himself heavily onto the bed beside you.
VERNON ROCHE – I’ll be honest: it was chaos. Some of the guards were defending the ghetto from the “concerned citizens,” while the others were trying to arrest Iorveth and his fighters. Armand Lavelle managed to reach Grave, and the two of them got into a fight… But the crowd kept pressing forward. In the end, even the knights of the Chalice had to defend themselves against the crazed townspeople.
RUNE – Fuck, there had to be fifty dead by the end of it! At least! I’ve never seen a bloodbath like that in my life!
VERNON ROCHE – But at some point… everything suddenly went quiet. Korda’s supporters fell back, and Iorveth managed to slip away in the confusion… Rock knocked Armand unconscious with a well-placed blow from his hammer… Captain Vincent was wounded too. Fortunately, Father Hieronim was a great help. He brought the novices into the square to tend to the wounded. The Sisters of Mercy from Saint Lebioda’s infirmary answered the call as well. If not for them, the death toll would have been much higher…
YOU – But how did it come to this? This is a complete nightmare, Vernon…
VERNON ROCHE – Oh yes. It ended in a catastrophe we failed to prevent. People died — humans, elves, dwarves… Among the dead were those twin brothers — Grave’s men. Grave himself suffered a head wound. Four of Armand’s men survived; the knights fought bravely to defend the ghetto. Iorveth’s unit took losses as well, but he himself escaped, as I said.
YOU – And what… what about that blue-eyed elf who was trying to get Korda to calm down?
VERNON ROCHE – Honestly, I don’t know, Geralt. Captain Meis’s soldiers are guarding the nonhuman quarter now. The rest of the guards are trying to round up the instigators — the ones who followed Korda. Armand Lavelle was taken home, as far as I know. I think he got away with a concussion… But the Merchant Quarter is still sealed off, and there’s been no word from pan Leuvaarden. I went to speak with Thaler today. He thinks we need to see the investigation through to the end.
YOU – Yes, he’s right… I think I can get up now. I hope.
FORTITUDE [Medium: Failure] – Oh, I’m not so sure…
WHISPER [Easy: Success] – By the way, a penetrating abdominal wound is almost certainly fatal. Especially when it’s inflicted with a rusty pitchfork. It would be very interesting to know who saved you.
YOU – How did I survive a wound that serious?
RUNE – That’s a fucking great question! Once it was all over, we figured you were done for. So we hauled you back here to the tavern…
NARRATOR – Vernon casually raises a hand, signaling the boy to stop.
VERNON ROCHE – Strangely enough, Iorveth was the first to help me — he and I were the ones who dragged you over to the fountain, where Korda attacked me afterward. And thank you for the timely warning, by the way. Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation now. After the fighting was over, good sir Rock carried you up here to the room… Honestly, when I saw the wound, I had almost no hope left.
RUNE – Yeah, same here. I thought that was it — time to call the gravedigger and order the funeral music.
ARTISTRY [Challenging: Failure] – I wonder what music he would have ordered. Hopefully not that extravagant duo who played in Grave’s den.
RUNE – But then some woman showed up wearing really weird clothes. Looked pretty young, but her eyes… Fuck, you wouldn’t believe it. Ancient. Like she was a hundred years old or more. Can you imagine? Creepy as hell…
VERNON ROCHE – A sorceress who happened to be passing through Vizima. Someone told her about the riots, and she decided to help the wounded… But when she heard that a white-haired witcher had been badly injured, the pani rushed straight to your bedside. She sent everyone away and spent an entire day with you, barely leaving your side…
WHISPER [Legendary: Failure] – If you’re hoping I have even the slightest idea who that might have been, let me save you the trouble: I don’t. Not a single clue.
VERNON ROCHE – The next day, she could barely make it downstairs to the common room on her own. The magic had taken a great deal out of her… Once she had recovered a little, the sorceress said the danger had passed and that you were certain to recover. That same evening, after visiting the other wounded, the pani left the city in a hurry.
YOU – But who was that sorceress? What was her name? Why did she choose to help me first?
VERNON ROCHE – I understand why you’re asking, Geralt, but I don’t have the answers. I’m sorry. She only said she was heading somewhere south… And her name… If I remember correctly, Visenna.
RUNE – Yeah, that’s it! I peeked into the room that night — well, I was curious — and this Visenna was sitting beside you, humming something like a lullaby… And the way she looked at you… Like…
NARRATOR – The boy suddenly sniffs loudly.
RUNE – Fuck, my own mother never looked at me like that in her life! Never sang me any lullabies either… Ah, kurwa… That’s some sad shit… What the fuck are you staring at? Turn around, damn it… Rune’s a person too…
UMBRA [Legendary: Failure] – Visenna?.. You’ve never heard that name before. I’m absolutely certain of it.
VERNON ROCHE – An alchemist who introduced himself as Adalbert also came to see you twice. He brought an ointment for the wounds and some strengthening elixirs, and asked me to give you his best wishes. I take it he’s a friend of yours?..
YOU – Yes, Kalkstein. A friend of mine…
MASQUE [Easy: Success] – He’s your Star Brother and a scientist of genius!
VERNON ROCHE – Rosie stopped by yesterday and asked whether we needed any help, but by then all we could do was wait and hope. Even a couple of Captain Meis’s men came by — Jurajda and Janusz, I believe. They brought some dried meat and a bottle of wine, so if you’re hungry…
NARRATOR – You shake your head.
YOU – Ugh, just thinking about food makes me nauseous. Maybe later… But thank you. All of you. For not letting this wreck die.
VERNON ROCHE – Please, don’t… In short, it all ended far worse than I had hoped… and far better than it might have. But it’s too early to celebrate. We still have a case to close. Are you ready?
FORTITUDE [Challenging: Failure] – No. You need another week or two in bed.
BRAWN [Medium: Success] – Pull yourself together, you fucking rag!!! Come on, show some willpower. You’re a beast! A monster from hell! A goddamn fiend that’ll keep moving till it drops dead. You’re a FIENDMOBILE!
YOU – Ugh… Yeah. I’m a fiendmobile.
VERNON ROCHE – I have no idea what that means, but if it helps…
YOU – Just… don’t make me walk too fast.
RUNE – Yeah, I’m ready too! Let’s go!
NARRATOR – Vernon glances at the boy.
VERNON ROCHE – Rune, I am certainly grateful for your help, but… you’re still very young. And as you can see, our investigation has turned out to be far more dangerous than we expected. I cannot — and have no right to — put a child’s life at risk.
RUNE – Oh, fuck that! Carrying basins full of blood? Sure, put Rune to work! But when it’s time to catch murderers, suddenly it’s “fuck off, Rune, you’re too young”! No fucking way. I’m not having that!
NARRATOR – He jumps to his feet and declares with absolute certainty:
RUNE – I’m coming with you. What the hell am I supposed to do here anyway?! The second things got dangerous, Runa fucked off somewhere… You took my dead guy away… It’s boring as shit! And after these three days, I’ve gotten so witcherized I’m gonna grow a pair of yellow peepers any minute now! Then we can fiendmobile around together and beat the shit out of monsters!
SENSIBILITY [Easy: Success] – The runt isn’t going to let this go anyway.
YOU – Vernon, I think we can take him with us…
NARRATOR – Roche gives you a sarcastic look.
VERNON ROCHE – So the two of you can fiendmobile around and beat the shit out of monsters together? Geralt, let’s try to think rationally.
YOU – No, I just mean… If we manage to solve this case and things end relatively well, maybe you could get the boy into some kind of school, and later into the page corps… Help him get out of all this, you know?
VERNON ROCHE – Oh yes, I’m sure the page corps is just waiting for some little brat who swears every other word!
RUNE – Hey, fuck you, I’m not some little brat! I’m twelve — practically fifteen already, for fuck’s sake!
YOU – Yeah… School should probably come first. I just think he deserves a chance at a new life.
VERNON ROCHE – I don’t know what brought on this sudden fit of altruism, but all right. I promise I’ll think about it. Now let’s finally get moving… But in that case, Rune, you’ll obey me as your superior officer.
RUNE – Deal! No fucking argument there. Private Rune, reporting for law-and-order duty, motherfuckers! Ha!
NARRATOR – You slowly make your way down the stairs to the tavern’s ground floor, carefully holding on to the railing. Garte looms behind the bar, pouring beer into glasses. Off to one side, Grave, Rock, and Rosie are sitting together, deep in conversation.
GARTE – Oh, you’re finally awake! Thank the gods… You fought very bravely, witcher. I mean that.
SENSIBILITY [Easy: Success] – Not a trace of his old contempt remains. Over the past few days, the innkeeper has clearly changed his opinion of you.
GARTE – Thanks to you, pan Roche, good sir Grave, and many others, our quarter wasn’t swallowed up by the riots… And my tavern is still standing. Naturally, I won’t charge you a single coin for the time you’ve spent here since being wounded — or for however long you need to stay.
VICE [Trivial: Success] – Very convenient, considering you’re still poor as a church mouse. Maybe His Majesty will finally loosen the purse strings once the investigation is over?
GARTE – Oh, and I tidied up your room a little.
YOU – I noticed. It’s much cleaner now. I was wondering who went to all that trouble…
BOND OF STEEL [Easy: Success] – You should return the compliment and acknowledge his courage. Garte held his post to the very end, after all — like a captain going down with a sinking ship.
YOU – You were practically on the front line yourself, weren’t you? The only thing more hard-boiled than you is an egg.
GARTE – Oh, come now, hardly the front line… I kept hoping until the very end that it would all be settled peacefully. Alas…
NARRATOR – Garte spreads his hands and lets out a meaningful sigh. You silently nod and sigh in return. After a moment, Rune clicks his tongue and adds something like, “Ugh…” Finally, Vernon folds his arms across his chest, lowers his head, and gives a short, perfectly restrained sigh of a man who has seen far too much.
ARTISTRY [Challenging: Success] – Just four hardened men exchanging meaningful sighs in solemn silence. A nod, a heavy look — no unnecessary words, no explanations, no chatter about feelings. The only thing more hard-boiled than them is the eggs some pockmarked gentleman is eating at a table by the window.
GARTE – …Perhaps you’d like some lunch? Or something to drink?
VICE [Challenging: Success] – Strange as it may sound, even I think you should hold off on the booze for now.
YOU – Thanks, Garte, but let’s leave that until tonight. There’s still a criminal on the loose. Once we finish the investigation, then we can relax.
NARRATOR – You walk over to the table where Grave and his crew are sitting. The thief-in-law, his head wrapped in bandages, greets you grandly.
GRAVE – Well, look who it is! The hero of the Temple Quarter himself, shedding blood for the common folk, kurwa! Though you really ought to work on your knife-throwing. Takes real talent to shit the bed that badly at the crucial moment.
YOU – Yeah… Looks like you got hurt too?
NARRATOR – He merely waves it off.
GRAVE – Ah, that was the little bastard who came to avenge his brother…
ROSIE – I told you! You should’ve worn a helmet instead of flashing that bald head all over the square!
GRAVE – Fair point. Turns out the little shit can do more than run his mouth. Between us, though, you’d better find the real killer… I’d rather not have that lunatic Armand chasing me around.
YOU – That’s exactly what we were about to do… And… I’m sorry for your loss.
ROCK – Ah… Yeah, Janek and Jarek… Always inseparable, those two. And now…
GRAVE – Kurwa, I never did learn to tell them apart… But we’ll find the sons of bitches who killed them. I’ll remember those ugly mugs for the rest of my life. Bah, damn it! Innkeeper, have you fallen asleep over there? Bring the beer already!
GARTE – Please don’t rush me, pan Grave! Just give me another minute. …And I’m not an innkeeper.
KEEN EYE [Trivial: Success] – Someone seems to be missing.
YOU – Wait, where’s Rat? What happened to him?
NARRATOR – The gnome answers with contempt.
ROSIE – Ran off. Soon as the elves started shooting, he must’ve shit himself and bolted in the confusion.
SENSIBILITY [Challenging: Success] – Unlike Rat, she wasn’t scared. And once the fighting was over, she was probably the first to rush over and bandage Grave’s wound.
GRAVE – Rat was always a coward… That’s why they fucking call him Rat. We’ll find him too and… deal with him. Don’t you worry about that.
YOU – Uh… Right. Well, I guess we’ll be going, then. Try to make sense of all this.
GRAVE – Yeah, that’s the way. If you need anything, don’t be shy about asking. And if you ever get bored of hunting monsters… come join our gang, Wolf. We’ll find a job for you.
ROSIE – Just don’t forget what city you’re in. Hee-hee…
YOU – By the way, Rosie… Elżbieta got away from us unharmed.
NARRATOR – The gnome merely gives you a knowing wink.
SENSIBILITY [Easy: Success] – She knows everything — including the fact that pani Nox nearly incinerated you on the spot. She probably knows where the sorceress is now, too. Naturally, she isn’t going to tell you.
NARRATOR – Grave gets to his feet and holds out a hand.
GRAVE – Take care, Wolf.
NARRATOR – The handshake is brief and firm: no unnecessary warmth, but none of the old mockery either.
YOU – Take care, Grave. Rosie, Rock…
NARRATOR – Rock gives a silent nod. Rosie smiles as though she knows exactly where and when you’ll meet again.
DIALECTIC [Medium: Success] – And yet Grave’s organization deals drugs, intimidates people, and keeps half the district in an iron grip. To call it good would be not merely naive, but foolish.
WHISPER [Medium: Success] – But they did a good thing. Evil is almost never pure or unambiguous. Sometimes it feeds the hungry, protects its own, lends a helping hand — and then goes right back to its dirty work.
DIALECTIC – But at least this was not thoughtlessness, not indifference, not the rehearsed excuse of “I was only doing my job.” It was a choice. A choice to act.
UMBRA – The gray area… The most morally uncomfortable place in the world. And yet it is where we usually have to live.
NARRATOR – You find yourselves out on the street again. The sun is shining brightly.
FOREBODING [Challenging: Success] – Just as foretold, you left this city when the rain stopped… And yet, by some miracle, you managed to return. Go on, witcher. The world is waiting.
NARRATOR – A little half-elf runs up to you with a joyful cry.
ENNA – Pan witcher, you’re alive! I’m so glad. Papa said you stood up for our quarter, but you were badly wounded… I wanted to visit you, but pan Roche said I wasn’t allowed to yet.
VERNON ROCHE – Yes, Enna did come by the day before yesterday, but you were delirious…
ENNA – I hope you get better as soon as possible. Here, I saved you a pie from that bakery. Auntie Sofa baked it this morning!
NARRATOR – Smiling, you accept the treat and take a delighted bite.
WHISPER [Trivial: Success] – Cabbage!
ENNA – Come visit us this evening! My parents will be happy to see all of you.
YOU – I will, Enna. As soon as we untangle the remaining mysteries. And then the next pie is on me!
ENNA – All right, pan witcher. And I remember our deal about that book. I’ll be waiting for you!
NARRATOR – Vernon smirks.
VERNON ROCHE – You’re surprisingly good with children. Rune seems to have grown rather attached to you as well.
RUNE – What the fuck do you mean, child?! I’m practically a grown man already! In a couple of years I’ll be bigger than you…
VERNON ROCHE – Speaking of mysteries… What do you make of pani Karmen, after everything that’s happened?
DIALECTIC [Legendary: Success] – By now, a certain theory has begun to take shape in your mind. Shame it came together too late.
YOU – I think… M wasn’t the only person she was spying for. I suspect that at some point Karmen began working for Redanian intelligence. That’s why it was so important for her to stay in the capital.
VERNON ROCHE – Interesting. Go on.
YOU – Remember what Iorveth said? That Redanian agents had infiltrated the racist group… I think we saw at least a few of them in the square.
VERNON ROCHE – You mean those brutes? Yes, I noticed them too. They stood out from the crowd far too much.
YOU – It’s entirely possible Karmen was acting as a liaison. Or gathering some other kind of intelligence… Maybe she was questioning Bastien about something, since he moved in high society. Who knows. Emil wasn’t the only — or even the main — reason she was afraid of prison. What truly terrified her was the prospect of being exposed. The punishment for espionage is the gallows. So when the whole mess began, Karmen decided it would be wiser to run. Just as she said, there was no life left for her in Temeria now, but… pani Růžička never intended to stay anyway. She probably returned to Redania.
VERNON ROCHE – That sounds very plausible. Her papers could easily have been forged, and she undoubtedly knew how to slip across the border unnoticed.
YOU – But could she really have made up absolutely everything from beginning to end?..
VERNON ROCHE – I wouldn’t be surprised if the story about the ruined town was true. Only it wasn’t Redanian soldiers who did it, but Temerian ones… And of course, her name is neither Karmen nor Katarzyna Růžička. That woman wove an entire web of lies around herself. The only thing I can’t figure out is how the messages were passed. I would have assumed magic, but your medallion didn’t react to anything in her room, did it?
YOU – That’s true… Although… Hm. Could pani Nox have been helping her? Perhaps the sorceress became an unwitting accomplice in the whole scheme without even realizing it?
VERNON ROCHE – Oh… Honestly, at this point I’m prepared to believe just about anything. In any case, Katarzyna Růžička is far away by now. Perhaps that’s for the best.
RUNE – Hey, I didn’t understand a fucking word of that. Who the hell is Katarzyna? Your lover or something? Why are you two so hung up on her? We’ve got an investigation to do, remember!
VERNON ROCHE – Yes, the boy is right. Enough theorizing. I suggest we go back to Karmen’s room and take another look at where the shot could have come from.