Evil's Soft First Touches

Evil's First Soft Touches is the first main quest available in the Hearts of Stone expansion.

Journal entry

 * When Geralt later told me the story which began at the Seven Cats Inn notice board, he mentioned he had felt drawn to that place, as if some strange, undefined force wanted him to appear there on that day and at that time. I didn't give this remark a second thought until I heard the tale to its conclusion, and realized its beginning had been no accident...


 * And it began like this: One day Geralt arrived at the Seven Cats Inn in search of his next contract. He perused the notices hanging there, yet found none to be of much interest, and was about to go on his way when a man came to nail a new parchment to the board. The notice announced a certain Olgierd von Everec, residing in the nearby Garin Estate, was looking for someone to kill a dangerous monster lurking in the Oxenfurt sewers. "Sounds like a job for me," thought Geralt, and he set off to see this Olgierd and learn more about the contract. Little did he know this was to be the beginning of a great adventure, one filled with both delightful diversions and deadly dangers…


 * As you might have guessed, what looked like a run-of-the-mill monster hunt, the kind Geralt had already completed countless times, turned out to be but the very tip of a very large iceberg. The first icy underwater hunk exposed itself when Geralt quite unexpectedly encountered our old friend Shani, an Oxenfurt medic, in the sewers during his hunt for the toad monster. He promised to visit her as soon as he took care of his task, and kept his promise – but not before going on quite the detour.


 * When Olgierd mentioned rumors floating around that the sewer monster was an enchanted prince, the thought never even occurred to Geralt to grant them any credence. When he finally found and slew the beast, he learned the error of this disbelief. Once slaughtered, the toad revealed itself to be, as rumored, a prince. Geralt was dumbstruck – partly by this surprise twist, I'm sure, but mostly by the poisonous gasses that had escaped from the toad's body and still filled the air. He was thus in no state to resist the unit of heavily armed men led by a mage which suddenly appeared and captured him.


 * When he next awoke, he was on a ship, imprisoned with a strange man who informed him they were bound for Ofier. There Geralt was to be executed for the crime of killing the Ofieri crown prince. Geralt was wracking his brain for a way to jump out of this pot of trouble, when, suddenly, out of the shadows came Gaunter O'Dimm, a merchant Geralt had met earlier on his path, with an offer of help. The merchant charged a high price for his assistance: he left his mark on Geralt's face and forced him to make an open-ended promise of repayment. And then… then a terrible storm broke out, flinging the ship against the rocks.


 * Geralt made it out of the resulting chaos unscathed and went to meet O'Dimm. The merchant asked him to carry out three wishes for the man who'd sent him after the toad, Olgierd von Everec. Willing or not, Geralt agreed, and the two set off together to the Garin estate. Once there, they discovered the manor was on fire. The witcher decided to see what was afoot.


 * Near the burning manor two of Olgierd's men were setting up the execution of a third.


 * If Geralt intervenes and saves the man's life:
 * Geralt decided to intervene. As soon as he did, Olgierd emerged from the manor – and did not stand idly while Geralt interfered with his orders. Instead he engaged Geralt in unrestrained combat, during which the witcher sliced off his head. This proved but a temporary setback for Olgierd, who simply placed his decapitated head back on the bloody stump of his neck.
 * If Geralt doesn't intervene and lets them kill the man:
 * When Geralt asked what the poor fellow was accused of, Olgierd emerged from the manor. They had barely begun to discuss the matter when a bereaved young woman thrust a sword into his back, blaming him for the death of her father. This grave – deadly, it would seem – wound did not bother Olgierd one bit. With the blade still stuck in his guts, he began to calmly explain to the young woman that he was not responsible for her daddy's death.
 * It then became crystal clear Geralt was dealing with no mere mortal.
 * It then became crystal clear Geralt was dealing with no mere mortal.
 * It then became crystal clear Geralt was dealing with no mere mortal.


 * Soon thereafter Master Mirror appeared and introduced Geralt to Olgierd, explaining the witcher would, as his assistant, carry out Olgierd's three wishes. This turn of events did not please Olgierd one bit, but he clearly had no choice but to agree and tell Geralt his wishes. For his first, he demanded Geralt bring him the house of Maximillian Borsodi [sic], and for the second, he asked Geralt to show his brother, Vlodimir von Everec, the time of his life. Geralt then turned his attentions to these labors…

Walkthrough

 * Check the notice board outside the Seven Cats Inn.
 * Go see Olgierd von Everec about the contract (default reward is 400, haggle and Olgierd will raise the reward to 450 without quibbling).
 * Enter the Oxenfurt sewers.
 * Search the sewers using your Witcher Senses.
 * Go to the spot where the monster attacked Shani and the Redanian soldiers.
 * Find the key to the lower level of the sewers using your Witcher Senses.
 * Search the lower level of the sewers using your Witcher Senses.
 * Find the monster's lair.
 * Kill the monster.
 * (Optional) Defeat the Ofieri warriors.
 * Meet Master Mirror at midnight at the crossroads beneath the willows.
 * Go see Olgierd.

Trivia

 * In the last scene, while speaking with O'Dimm about Borsodi's House, Geralt mentions that his "swords got almost auctioned off there once." This is in reference to an event which took place in the 'Season of Storms' book.
 * When you first enter Garin's estate and ask to speak to Olgierd, when everyone stands up claiming to be him, this is clearly inspired by the scene from the film Spartacus, when everyone claims to be Spartacus.