Azar-as-Raymond¶

Head over to Raymond’s House and tell him about the autopsy. Geralt makes up a story about botching the autopsy-probably trying to make himself look foolish to play into Azar’s expectations. Leave and come back to talk to him again and he’ll tell you that he figured out the case-Kalkstein and Ramsmeat were working together. Since Azar wants these two dead, we can assume that we should try our best to do the opposite.

Now, there are a few things you can do here, including something you should not do-but that’s interesting nonetheless. Talk to Azar-as-Raymond and ask him about the commander of the Royal Guards to get a story different from the one we heard Raymond telling us ealier-just confirming what we already know. If you pick dialgoue option #2 you can call Azar’s bluff, or more interestingly, you can have a candid little conversation with “Azar”, even getting Azar-as-Raymond to “pretend” to be Azar so you can practice your confrontation with him. It’s a cool scene, to be sure, if you want to nerd out on it. Be careful, however, as you can push the scenario too far and actually get the controntation-you-think-you-want-but-don’t.

If you provoke Azar, he’ll attack you, and call upon squads of “Salamandra Executioners” to take you down. Granted a 20th level Geralt could dispatch the Salamanders by the dozen, but every little hit stacks up, and if you still persist in gaining the edge against Azar and his goons, you’ll just be killed via cutscene. It’s best if you stop your little game with him by playing dumb and fingering Kalkstein as the perfect person for ‘Azar“ to impersonate. Tell Azar-as-Raymond that you’re ready for Ramsmeat. He’ll implore you to kill him-the leader of Salamandra’s forces. With that, leave.

Now go pay a visit to Ramsmeat, either at his house or in the Hairy Bear, wherever he’s lurking. Tell him about Azar’s attempt to get you to kill him, and request that he lie low for a while. He’ll point out the obvious danger in fighting Azar alone. To that end, let’s talk to Kalkstein. First, tell Kalkstein that he’s innocent to complete “Suspect: Kalkstein” . For this we’ll learn that Azar practices fire magic-something inherently incompatible with order, and hence, something that an intellectual like Kalkstein cannot tolerate. Tell Kalkstein that Azar is posing as Raymond and he’ll tell you to set up an ambush somewhere magically unstable and surrounded by the element opposed to fire-near the tower in the Swamp Forest. This completes “What Lies Beneath” .

Vizima Cemetery¶

Return to Azar-as-Raymond and tell him that Ramsmeat is dead. Geralt will ask his friend “Raymond” to come to the Swamp Tower with him, where together they can head off Azar and Kalkstein, who have been defanged now that Ramsmeat is dead. Azar-as-Raymond bites, and gives you the “Keth’Aar” Sephirah to help you access the tower. There’s only a few more things left to do before we head off to the Swamp Forest.

Now that it’s night, head over to the Cemetery. We should finish this area up, if for no better reason than for experience and to resolve the quest “A Gravedigger’s Gratitude” . Nobody likes failed quests in their journal, right? Inside you can find various plants like Celandine and Crows Eye, some loot, and of course undead-at least at night-including Drowners, Drowned Dead, Ghouls, and Alghouls. When you’re done looting and killing in the exterior, head inside a Crypt along the northern edge of the Cemetery.

Inside you’ll find plenty of undead, including Ghouls, Alghouls, Graviers, and Fleders… but you will also find plenty of loot, so it’s worth it. Better yet, if you don’t want to brew up a Cat Potion you can just turn the gamma up again, it’s not too dark in here. Once you’re done looting and killing, there is a wall you can knock down with the Aard Sign. Enter the tunnel opposite the exit and take a left to find it. Beyond you’ll find plenty of undead to kill, but most importantly, you’ll find Raymond’s body. Examining it will update pretty much every active main-story quest in the chapter-especially if you haven’t completed “Anatomy of a Crime” -including the “Suspect” quests, “What Lies Beneath” , “Vizima Confidential” and “Anatomy of the Crime” . If you have already completed “Anatomy of a Crime” (like this guide suggests) you’ll get more modest results.

A Party for Shani¶

Let’s take a break from conspiracies and power-plays and visit Shani at her house. Talk to her and she’ll mention that she’s trying to get you and Dandelion together to reminisce. She happens to be missing the most important supplement for such gatherings, however-the booze. She needs you to obtain some Cherry Spirit Cordial for Dandelion, Mettina Rose for her… and something for you, too, which in this case means Temerian Rye. Head over to the Hairy Bear Inn and buy or retrieve the required alcohol and return to Shani. She tells you to bring a friend.

Now, there are three people we can bring-and two of them are rather silly choices, but they fit into the three Witcher builds… well enough. First, there’s Siegfried, who can accompany a Witcher if you plan to side with the Order. Second, there’s Zoltan Chivay, who can accompany you if you plan to side with the nonhumans. Lastly, you can pay Carmen 100 Orens to come with you. Granted, Carmen makes no sense to bring with you-unless you want to antagonize Shani-and Zoltan is by far the best choice, since he gets along with everybody there. But this might be making too big of a deal out of this and over schematizing things, so just bring whoever you want. It’s also a good idea if you have the food from downstairs, and bring some Red Roses along for good measure.

With a guest due to arrive, return to Shani’s House. Grandma will complain about the debauchery upstairs, and complain about Dandelion’s reputation and the results she fears will occur in nine months. Head upstairs to “chaperone” them, and talk to Dandelion while you’re there. You’ll discover that he’s another one of your past friends who saw your death.

Talk to Dandelion again and he’ll pose to you a sort of moral dilemma, and you should respond accordingly. Is every supernatural monster deserving of death? Ponder it for now, it’ll come up later. Talk to people and eventually you’ll end up having to go downstairs to get something from Grandma. Since you’re somewhat drunk by now, it’s a good idea to already have looted her house. If you have “Prophet Lebioda’s Signet Ring” on you don’t have to worry about it, however. Return with what you’ve been sent to fetch and the party will proceed in due course to its ultimate conclusion-varying depending upon who you brought with you. Once it’s over talk to Shani and give her some Red Roses. In return, you’ll get the “Shani #1” Sex Card .

Talk to Shani and rest until morning. Now that the quest “Old Friend of Mine” is completed, let’s finish up “A Gravedigger’s Gratitude” . Talk to the Gravedigger and tell him what you discovered. Why does Geralt feel the need to tell every peasant in the city about Azar-as-Raymond? Isn’t he worried that somebody with loose lips will allow the fact that Geralt knows about Azar to get back to him? Who knows?

Anyways, get your experience and head to the Dike-that’s right, it’s finally time to head to the Swamp Forest. Before you go, you might want to grab a Honeycomb-it can be given to a character in the Swamp Forest in exchange for some juicy knowledge. It’s also a good idea for you to make sure you’ve read pretty much every book available to you by now. You’re going to want to be able to loot those Wyverns, Echinops, and other critters that inhabit the Swamp Forest.

Return to the Dike after our long absence and talk to Leuvaarden. A lot has changed, but we still need to exonerate him. Present your evidence and you’ll learn another bit of information about Azar Javed and his machinations-Redanian politics might be involved. Apparently, Declan belongs to a secret organization as well (Temeria is rife with them, it seems) that seeks to dismantle Salamandra. Unlike most of the other “Suspects” Leuvaarden gives you 500 Orens for your time-no matter what we’re doing, we always seem to leave Leuvaarden quite a bit richer. A richer Witcher? Heh… Ask him about the Sephirot and he’ll admit to possessing one. Unfortunately, he’ll take 500 Orens from you for the stone. With the addition of the “Tipperath Sephirah” we have seven of the ten Sephirot.

Go find the Ferryman and talk to him. You’ll need to fork over five Orens to get him to take you to the other side. It’s time to head to the Swamp Forest and leave Vizima behind.