Gaunter O'Dimm

"In brief, I give folk what they ask for. You might say I simply grant their wishes."

Gaunter O'Dimm, sometimes called Master Mirror or Man of Glass, presented himself as a former merchant of mirrors, now a mangy vagrant. However, as one might suspect, he was a much more powerful individual, creating pacts with people in exchange for their souls and being able to control time with a mere clap of his hands.

Biography
Not much is known about Gaunter before his meeting with Geralt, but he stated that he was a former mirror merchant-turned-mangy vagrant because of the war.

Meeting in the White Orchard inn
In 1272, when Geralt was searching for Yennefer in White Orchard, he visited a local tavern where he ran into O'Dimm who claimed to know about Geralt of Rivia and Yennefer of Vengerberg from Master Dandelion's ballads and advised him to go to a Nilfgaardian garrison nearby to continue his search. He remarked that one day he may need Geralt and then suddenly disappeared.

When a captive Geralt was on a ship en route to Ofier to await execution for unknowingly killing the Ofieri Prince, Gaunter O'Dimm mysteriously appeared. He offered to help free Geralt in exchange for a small favor. When Geralt agreed, O'Dimm burned a mark on his face as a sign of their bargain. He then caused a storm to destroy the ship and gave Geralt an opening to escape.

The two later reunited at O'Dimm's rendezvous point at the crossroads of Yantra at midnight. There, O'Dimm contracted Geralt into helping him finish up a different contract: to grant three wishes to the immortal Olgierd, telling him once the wishes have been granted he will free Geralt of his pact.

O'Dimm reappeared when Geralt went to confront Olgierd. As it turned out, their pact required a proxy to fulfill Olgierd's wishes. After Olgierd gave Geralt his first two wishes (to show his brother Vlodimir the time of his life and to bring him Maximilian Borsodi's house) O'Dimm appeared before Geralt, offering his help as the contract did not forbid it. He informed Geralt that Vlodimir was already deceased and thus provided a vial of von Everec blood to perform a Blood Summoning. However, he refused to make things easy on Geralt, telling him to rely on his wit and intelligence when it came to Maximilian Borsodi's house.

Gaunter O'Dimm's true identity remained a mystery throughout most of the story, though he appeared to be a powerful being as he could take souls, grant wishes, see things for their true nature, cause ghosts pain, and could manipulate time itself, making Geralt increasingly suspicious of the true nature of O'Dimm. Despite asking who he is, O'Dimm refused to reveal his true name to Geralt, warning him that those who learned it suffered a terrible fate. While seemingly almost untouchable, Geralt did learn that O'Dimm had one weakness: he loved to make deals with anyone who asked as long as the payment was their soul. Playing into this, he will also take up challenges where one's soul is at stake, as he almost always won (with the exception of one person who had beaten him at his own game).

However, his deals were often filled with conditions and wordplay loopholes through which O'Dimm could claim payment, apparently often Faustian in nature. The clearest example of this trickery was shown with one Professor Premethine Shakeslock: O'Dimm granted him physical protection but forced him to remain within a spell diagram, caused mental damage with dreams and visions, and then set a trap to kill Shakeslock should he ever leave the circle.

Through the tasks Olgierd made him do, Geralt learned that Olgierd had previously made a pact with O'Dimm for the restoration of his wealth and power so that he could once again be of nobility and marry his noble-born love. However, O'Dimm delighted in difficult decisions and made Olgierd choose between sacrificing Iris or Vlodimir before granting his wish; Olgierd chose his brother, causing him to die the next day. However it was shown that as a "side effect" of his fulfilled desires, Olgierd had developed a heart of stone: losing his capacity for any emotions over time, culminating in the eventual death of his wife.

The plot thickens
"All who have learned my true name are now either dead or have met an even worse fate." After fulfilling Olgierd's final wish, Geralt encountered O'Dimm again at the Alchemy tavern where he was stopped by a drunk patron inviting him to drink, which caused O'Dimm to lose his patience and stop time itself so he could have a chat with the witcher. Through questioning, O'Dimm told Geralt that he was neither demon nor djinn and that it was not his fault that the negative intentions of his clients caused them to suffer, explaining to Geralt that he gave people exactly what they wished for. When questioned about who he was O'Dimm became deadly serious and told Geralt that those who know his name had either gone mad or had died and he was showing the witcher mercy by not telling him. He ordered Geralt to bring Olgierd to a meeting at the Temple of Lilvani to complete their deal, then killed the interrupting drunkard with a spoon through the eye on his way out before restoring the flow of time.

Looking for more information on O'Dimm, Geralt, thanks to Shani's help, eventually found the Professor Shakeslock in Oxenfurt Academy, where he had cloistered himself in his house out of fear of what he had discovered. He told the witcher that Olgierd had hired him to research O'Dimm's identity and to figure out how Olgierd might get rid of him. He had "pored over countless tomes, delved into obscure incidents and analyzed folk legends" and came to believe that, in short, O'Dimm was "Evil Incarnate."

He further explained that O'Dimm was just one of many names belonging to the entity, a record of whose presence could be traced back thousands of years and across different cultures, and was a being who appeared to relish in meddling with human affairs, taking their souls, and sowing misfortune. However, O'Dimm had one weakness: he could be tempted into pacts where one's soul is at stake and he must always keep his end of the bargain.

The professor revealed that simply studying about O'Dimm had caused him to go blind, which had in turn attracted the attention of O'Dimm himself. O'Dimm had then drawn the professor a magical circle of protection as a reward of sorts, telling him that he would be safe as long as he remained in the circle. However, he then made the ceiling brace above the circle weaken, creating a death trap for the professor should he leave the circle. Geralt managed to get the information he wanted out of the professor who proclaimed that he felt happy just to be useful again. This reaction corresponded to the failure of the ceiling brace, causing structural damage and shaking the walls with enough force to cause a bookcase to fall. Geralt managed to hold the bookcase upright but the professor tripped over a bottle as he backed away, causing him to fall outside the circle and to break his neck on a small pile of books, instantly killing him.

O'Dimm greeted both Geralt and Olgierd at the temple ruins by walking down from the sky, telling Olgierd that he is here for his soul as agreed. Olgierd disputed this by stating that O'Dimm can only claim his soul as per the agreement by granting him three wishes through a third party and for him to "be standing upon the moon" which Olgierd thought to be impossible. Still grinning wickedly, O'Dimm revealed that through Geralt he has done the three wishes and, with a gesture, blowed away the dust and dirt off the temple grounds to reveal an old tile floor with a design of the moon, thus fulfilling his side of the bargain evidenced by the contract itself bursting into flames. At this point Geralt could do one of two things: If Geralt decided the second option, O'Dimm would take him up on that offer but on his own terms, and promptly sent Geralt to a hellish and twisted landscape filled with shadowy versions of monsters Geralt had fought before. He told the witcher a riddle which he needed to solve to find O'Dimm and catch him before the timer ran out. To add to the challenge O'Dimm also created illusions and distractions, among them: an illusion of Shani about to fall off a cliff, numerous dead ends and pitfalls, and continuous taunting as Geralt tried his luck.
 * 1) Do nothing and let O'Dimm take his due payment, leaving Master Mirror quite satisfied, after which he will cheerfully absolve Geralt of the pact and tells Geralt what a pleasure it was to work with him as he offers him an additional reward (which Geralt can decline) before he walks off with the skull of his victim.
 * 2) Try to help Olgierd by playing for his and Olgierd's souls.

Geralt initially concluded that the answer to the riddle is 'mirror' and eventually managed to find a palace of mirrors, though O'Dimm altered the landscape while causing each mirror he approached to shatter, all the while mocking Geralt and speaking confidently of his victory. After several attempts, Geralt was able to reason through the problem and came to the realization that he needed to find an unbreakable mirror and released a dammed pool for a water fountain in order to look at himself on the water's surface. As he looked down, he saw O'Dimm hiding in his reflection and pulled him out of the water, which revealed O'Dimm to have eyes like a snake while his cheek and jaw bones become demonic. O'Dimm spoke to the witcher in three languages deriving from another world before being banished as agreed.

O'Dimm and the chalice
"Uh, we don't have it. Found a buyer. Mr. Mirrory, was it? Funny name, paid good coin, though." By the end of the third war, when Geralt rode through White Orchard again, one of the five remaining dwarves from the Isle of Mists mentioned O'Dimm as "Mr. Mirrory or something like that", the recipient of a chalice they had lifted from Lord Dagborg / Redanian commandant / Reverend Michelis.

Journal entry

 * Geralt has escaped a great many predicaments, sometimes of his own doing, sometimes aided by others. One of the strangest helping hands was that extended to him by Master Mirror. The witcher was on an Ofieri ship, held captive and bound for a date with the gallows... when, out of nowhere, in came Master Mirror. He reminded the witcher of their first encounter, when he helped Geralt find Yennefer in White Orchard. Now he was offering help as well -- this time, for a price. In exchange for freeing Geralt from the ship, he demanded Geralt meet him at a certain crossroads. When the witcher agreed, a strange mark appeared on his face. It was as though Master Mirror had put a stamp on him to show they had entered into as pact – a suspicion later confirmed beyond all doubt...


 * Gaunter O'Dimm explained he and their mutual acquaintance, Olgierd von Everec, had entered into a strange pact. Their deal stipulated O'Dimm must grant von Everec three wishes – yet could not do so on his own, but instead had to call upon the services of a proxy. And who better to provide such assistance than a witcher? Since O'Dimm made agreeing to be this proxy a condition for receiving help off the Ofieri ship, Geralt had little choice but to agree.


 * Master Mirror appeared once again – suddenly and out of nowhere, as usual – after Olgierd proclaimed his first two wishes. Mirror told Geralt of a way to show Olgierd's brother the time of his life, even though this life had in fact ended years earlier. He equipped Geralt with von Everec blood and the knowledge of how to summon Vlodimir's ghost. Just how O'Dimm had managed to collect a vial of von Everec blood was never made clear, but then again, burning question marks hung over everything this strange figure did.


 * Master Mirror made an appearance at the wedding Geralt attended with Shani and the ghost of Vlodimir, who inhabited Geralt's body so that he may enjoy one last night of earthly revelry. When midnight struck, Vlodimir was unsurprisingly in no mood to abandon the pleasures of the witcher's flesh. Yet Master Mirror intervened to put an immediate and cruel end to Vlod's stay among the living. Geralt later told me the cries of torment Vlod's ghost made haunted his dreams for months to come.


 * If Geralt seeks out Professor Shakeslock:
 * Geralt came away from his meeting with Professor Shakeslock knowing of a way to outfox Master mirror. The demonic pact-maker could be lured into a wager: win it, and he would be defeated once and for all.


 * If Geralt chooses to help Olgierd:
 * Geralt soon discovered Professor Shakeslock's words were true. Master Mirror could indeed be defeated at his own game. Geralt made a bet with him, wagering everything on one battle of wits, and won. By solving Master Mirror's riddle, he drove the demon from our dimension - though I fear he may yet return. His kind always returns.


 * If Geralt doesn't intervene:
 * Geralt decided to deliver Olgierd to Master Mirror's murky hands, thus completing their bargain. Geralt knew it was over at once, for in that moment the mark which had appeared on his face on the Ofieri ship disappeared like charcoal smudges drenched in a rain shower. That was the last Geralt ever saw of Master Mirror. I do not think he was missed.

Associated quests

 * Lilac and Gooseberries
 * Evil's Soft First Touches
 * Dead Man's Party
 * Scenes From a Marriage
 * Whatsoever a Man Soweth...

Trivia

 * Gaunter O'Dimm's initials form an acronym: G.O.D.
 * Randall Flagg- character from novels written by Stephen King - has a lot of names and one of them is "Walter o'Dim", who is a seemingly supernatural being of uncertain origin in the series The Dark Tower. Gaunter also shares similarities with Leland Gaunt from "Needful Things" - an evil entity who grants human wishes in exchange for evil deeds. It was later confirmed by Karolina Stachyra, senior writer in CD Projekt RED, that he was indeed inspired in part by these two.
 * His pact with Olgierd bears resemblance to the pact in a story from Polish folklore between the devil and a nobleman named Mr Twardowski. In this story, the pact specifies the devil can only collect the nobleman's soul when the nobleman visits Rome which, of course, the nobleman has no intention of doing. This allows him to escape his pact until he stays at an inn called Rzym (meaning Rome in Polish), and the devil comes to collect. Similarly, Olgierd's pact is only fulfilled when they stand on the moon together, which they do when O'Dimm tricks him into meeting Geralt at a temple with a large mosaic of the moon on the floor.
 * In the Twardowski legend after his deal with the devil, Twardowski uses a magic mirror to bring back the ghost of his late wife.
 * Gaunter's character seems to represent certain aspects of the characters "Holländermichel" and "Glasmännlein", from the German fairy tale Das kalte Herz by Wilhelm Hauff. In this story the benevolent forest spirit "Glasmännlein" grants the protagonist 3 wishes. Later in the story, the protagonist makes a deal with the evil sorcerer "Holländermichel" who takes his heart and gives him in a heart of stone in return and an infinite supply of money.
 * There is a bug when Geralt meets O'Dimm in White Orchard, the floating name above his head says, Gaunter O' Dim, missing the second 'm'.