MARREND'S PROFILE

March numbers available! This moth saw 21 nominations, bringing our total to 31! February's value being so low is somewhat expected, but, with the site being down, or otherwise unavailable for the last two weeks of that month certainly didn't help.

Last time, Geralt met with the with the ealdorman of Downwarren, as per a request given to him by the Crones of Crookback Bog. As part of that task, he meet with a thornling that claimed that the Crones captured the kids at the orphanage, and decided to help a thronling take the body of a horse that would, in turn, help the kids.

Nothing comes without a cost, though. The Crones wanted those children for themselves, and placed the blame for their escape entirely on Gran, who turned out to be the missing wife of the Bloody Baron. As payment for the information, the baron finishes his tale, which suggests Ciri left Velen for Novigrad, but, from the sound of things, she's likely not there anymore. Still, Novigrad is our next point of investigation, but, there's a few matters to attend to in Velen. Refer to the optional content corner for what details I can manage.

For starters the world map made me think Novigrad was it's own location with a separate map. It's still a rather large city, but very much located on the map of Velen. If I bothered to tag the quest that would have me go here, perhaps this confusion on my part would've been rectified earlier.

All that aside, this is among the largest civilized areas I've been in. The city has three notice boards and at least two fast travel points within it confines from the brief amount of exploration that I did there. It's quite the disparity from the thatched huts in the wild that I've become accustomed to seeing. Even in the area of Crow's Perch, while certainly better off then most places, still had this downtrodden sense. Even so, let's have the game introduce us to Triss Merigold and see what information she has to share, if any.

...Is what I would say, if she was still residing in her residence. Apparently, she's in hiding due to the Temple Guards of the Eternal Fire in this city cracking down on anybody who even has the hint of magic about them. A pair of scavengers milling about the entrance to the house relayed as such, dropping the title of "King of Beggars" when they do, before the leader of the Guard, Caleb Menge, butted in, arresting them, then gave me a bit of a warning that his eyes are on me.

Still, I peek in her house to see if there is any additional clues as to her whereabouts. The house is in a state of upheaval, with objects thrown about every which way. There's plenty of loot, but, the points of interest only really lead me to the conclusions that she left in a hurry. Though, with the state of the house in such disarray because of the looters, perhaps that is a premature conclusion.

From what the looters told me before getting cuffed is that there's two possible methods to find this King of Beggars. One is to talk to beggars, and probably grease their palms a bit. The other is to tail suspicious-looking characters from the town square in the hopes they might lead me to him. I attempt the latter of these, and I meet with a partial success. I now know where the entrance is, but, the gatekeeper there won't let me past unless I either pay 50 coin, or speak a password. There's no certainty that I would have learned the password if I spoke to beggars instead, so, whatever. I pay it.

In the office is a man and a woman. The man is the presumed King of Beggars, sometimes also known as Francis Bedlam. The woman...



...is the sought-after Triss Merigold. Francis makes a bit of a speech concerning his vision and wish to change Novigrad, but, who knows how successful he'll be. As for Triss, given her reaction, it would be news to her that Ciri made way to Novigrad. Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. However, the question of who could know the whereabouts of Ciri in this town assuming she's still here, is left unanswered as we approach an alchemist. Triss ordered some ingredients from him, but, he was intercepted by a Temple Guard patrol, and had to drop the package. I volunteer to go with Triss and fetch it, but, rather than leave through the front door, another patrol is by the window, and presents a problem. I don't know how well-known Triss is, as a sorceress, but, I'm sure she'd rather not risk getting caught by them, even if it means going through the basement to avoid detection.

Along the way to the site the alchemist spoke of, Triss speaks about how of Novigrad was once correctly labeled a free city. A place where that would allow both magic-users and nonhumans to flourish. Even regular folk had better chances here than anywhere else. In more peaceful times, perhaps it could still be that, but, of course, the city, known for it's wellspring of coin, has become a point of desirability for the parties engaged in war. I've long lost track of the political landscape of this game. I don't think the war in question is necessarily limited to Nilfgaard and Tamera, but, I certainly can't name other nations/factions off-hand. For what it is worth, the codex categories are, bestiary, tutorial, characters, books, and crafting. Any reference to nations would be limited to the character tab.

Either way, once the package is returned to it's rightful owner, we visit a granary to take out some rats? Wait, a rat-killing quest? This late in the game? Or have I been mystically transported to Castleview? Either way, it sounds like a prior arraignment for Triss, and having an extra hand wouldn't hurt. The job done in due time, the merchant asking this of us got the idea in his head to send men after us, and do the Eternal Fire a favor. There were maybe three level 10 guys, and while I don't know Triss' level, Geralt was at 11. With their focus divided, they were dealt with in due time. We then had a talk with the merchant afterwards, and strong-armed him into paying double. Frankly, I would've been happy with whatever was agreed beforehand, but, there was no options of conversation here.

That done, Triss does me a favor, and gives me a lead as to who might have an idea about Ciri's current whereabouts. A dream-seer by the name of Corinne Tilly. This marks the Pyres of Novigrad story-quest complete, and in it's place is Novigrad Dreaming. Pyres of Novigrad level indication was 10, but Novigrad Dreaming is 7. Now, maybe it's just me, but this makes me not want to engage in more side-questing? However, I get the funny feeling that things aren't going to be as easy as it sounds. Find out how if my feelings are justified, next time on the Witcher 3 LP!



Optional content corner
<Contract: Shrieker>
Not sure how long I've had this in my log, but, whatever. The person to talk to is in Crow's Perch. Absolutely no description is given for this beast. The son of a man who made a failed attempt to capture/slay it apparently saw the whole mess. It takes a bit of convincing/Axii, but, the child describes the thing as a large rooster with a lizard's tail, and gives me a general area to search. I find the remains of a dog (the boy mentioned one), before I notice the trail of monster blood. They eventually lead to a cave, and Geralt makes a conclusion that it's a cockatrice. Now that I think back on the description, yeah, that checks out.

I refer to the codex for what they are weak against, and, to no surprise, I don't have all the reagents for either draconid oil, or grapeshot bombs. At least I can use Aard to maybe knock it out of the air? My abilities with the crossbow have been a bit lacking, but, I guess that could be a method if I have no other options. I barely come out of the fight alive, but, since I am alive, I can take the trophy, and bring it back to the quest-giver for the exp reward. Naturally, they offer gold, but, since this guy took in an orphan, I'm inclined to let him keep the money. I dunno, maybe I really am making Geralt to poorest witcher, but, it's, just, I generally take the option to not take money, if it presents itself?

<Return to Crookback Bog>
I probably should have name-dropped these characters earlier, but, whatever. The baron's daughter, Tamara, did not want my help in rescuing her mother, Anna. Phillip, the Bloody Baron, however, is another story. As I said last session, I can't say for sure if we can truly save Anna, so long as she bears the brand that was placed upon her by the Crones. Even if one would make an attempt, who knows what kinds of consequences there would be in going against them?

All that aside, the baron seems willing enough to make an attempt, and wanted me to join him. The quest marker's at Downwarren. The ealdorman there speaks of a horse trampling about. The way he describes it makes both me and Geralt come to the same conclusion. It's probably the spirit of the thornling I helped that took the body of a horse from last session. It might have helped the children of the orphanage escape, but, now it's taking some kind of revenge on this town? They did send a non-zero number of people to kill it, but, I can not blame them for that. Nor can I exactly blame this spirit for wanting vengeance, but, my current guess is that I have to stop it, and, maybe, the Crones as well.

Regardless of what's going on, the baron takes six other guys with him, and we come across some drowners between us and the orphanage. Nothing a party of this size can't handle, that's for sure. When we arrive, there is already a melee in progress. It's the group Tamara's was with! After the drowners and water hags are cleared, the baron and daughter have a few words for each other. Of course, the baron would see his daughter return, but, she will have none of that. Both me and the witch hunters make a point that we should really, really figure out where Anna is. She's found, and her form more closely resembles that of a water hag than anything else. Tamara would have me do something for her, but, something is coming.

Another mess of drowners, water hags, and a large fiend. The concerted effort of Tamara's witch hunters, the baron's men, and myself take care of these things, so that our attention moves towards the now-cursed Anna. If there is one person who might know more about how Anna got to be this way, and give us a lead as to how it could be reversed, it's the godling, Johnny.

There's drowners and a water hag where his alcove was. It doesn't take long to figure out that he's left, though, and a search ensues. I follow Johnny's tracks, and find him in due time. He spoke of a hidden ladder, which I think I found on an earlier point in the game. I might not 100% remember what all was down there, but, it kinda sounds like if there is a way to reverse whatever happened with Anna, it's down there.

An array of four voodo dolls await me there, with exactly one representing Anna. I can examine all four, and glean what clues I can, and I make a choice. I'm not sure if I can back out of this, but, Anna is screwed either way. If we left the dolls as-is, she would probably degrade into a water hag in due time. By removing the wrong doll, she burns to ashes, and dies horribly. By choosing the right doll, she regains her human form, but, her life span has been cut short regardless. However, she gains her sanity back for what time she has left. The baron apologizes profusely for what he has done, as he should. Anna, for her part, is happy to see both husband and daughter together again, but, has a few more parting words for her daughter than husband.

Tamara takes some additional time to cry. I overheard the witch hunters talking about taking the body with them to Oxenfurt. Does Phillip have no say in this? Though, speaking of, maybe it didn't matter to him where she was buried. When he departed, he told me to go back to Crow's Perch for payment. What I found was a body hanging from a tree in the courtyard. Having lost Anna was doubtlessly a heavy blow, and with Tamara, being very vociferous in her wish to have nothing to do with him, he must've thought there was nothing left to live for.

So, I looked this up to see what the variations for the Bloody Baron plot line would be. The children Anna were looking after will be removed from the narrative (I'll refer to this state as RFN/MIA) regardless of what I choose. However, I'm largely assuming they are dead if the Crones take them. They might live if I help the thornling, but, the cost of helping that spirit is that the people of Dunbarrow suffer madness, if not death, themselves. Slaying it seems to indicate that Anna and Phillip live, but, Anna's mind and heart are completely broken. From what I can gather, Phillip would take her to some place where mystics are said to live in an attempt to heal her. Which means they become RFN/MIA for the rest of the game. However, should I help the sprit-thornling-horse thing, they both die, and would be RFN/MIA regardless. Tamara lives in any given scenario, but, her mental and emotional state are probably more stable if Anna lives. This is not to say that she could stabilize if her mother dies, but, she also likely wouldn't need to stabilize as much. However, I also find it likely that she'll be RFN/MIA for the rest of the game, regardless of how things go down.

All this aside, there is no doubt that the plot-line concerning the Bloody Baron has come to an end. I even get a little cut-scene for it. For what little it is worth, I could imagine Geralt wishing Phillip and Anna Strenger to be happier, and better off, in the next life. Assuming he even believes in such things. As for Tamara, perhaps Dea, her lubberkin sister, yet watches over her. Perhaps, one day, she turn this tragedy to strength, rather than allow it to destroy her from within.

<For the Advancement of Learning>
For a person who claims to be a friend with benefits, I can't say I appreciate the fact that Keria Metz put me to sleep after telling her that Fyke Tower's lab is still around. Perhaps the sorceress was overly excited by what she could find there, but, in that excitement, I wonder if she forgot the detail that a plauge maiden was released?

Fighting said plauge maiden is what I half-expect from this quest, but, thankfully, that wasn't what was going on at all. With documents in hand, she would make her way to Radovid. I'm not exactly sure which nation he represents, but, they are not friends to Nifgaard. Regardless, she of of the mind that she would trade the notes for a high price, and be able to live in a manner she is more used to living. However, I manage to talk her out of doing such a rash thing. The reasoning I have Geralt put forward is that the research notes could be turned into the makings of biological weapons. Keira believes it's not particularly possible. Even if it was, there would be death either way. The only difference would be how the death would come about.

Regardless of this, I suggest an alternative. To go to Kaer Morhen instead. It may not have all the trappings that she's clearly looking to immerse herself in once more, but, it's certainly an improvement over her living conditions in Velen, and she could live in relative peace. She relents, and, probably, becomes RFN/MIA.

Request via PM from bosshunter:

Hi, I don't mean to bother you.

I'm looking for a Game Maker Studio game called Monster World Legends, made by XBuster.

His rpgmaker page has the download offline for a very long time (gamepage link)

I noticed that you posted a comment there.

The filename is MWL_2017_Conceptual_Demo.rar from what I could find.

Do you still have this game? I've been looking for it since forever..

I absolutely did not still have the game. For what it is worth, I tried using the "contents" trick, and while it has two files listed, none of them is the one they are looking for. I'll be answering their PM as much, and letting them know I made this post.

I've definitely been slacking on updating the list of requests within my little subsection, but, I can at least slide this request in there.

As a point of cross reference, here are the links to the other entries in this series.

Marrend plays Xenosaga Episode 1!
Marrend plays Xenosaga Episode 3!