Evil's Soft First Touches

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

Contract: Monster in the Sewers

Let it be known that Olgierd von Everec shall pay a generous reward in gold, jewels and movable goods (subject to negotiation) to any man who descends into the Oxenfurt sewers and kills the beast which has infested them and taken to murdering the innocent, with an especial predilection for young maids. The task is best suited for a battle-hardened individual, a soldier or possibly a witcher, who will not run at the sight of drowners, for the sewers are chock full of such nuisances.

For more information, inquire at the Garin Estate (to the northeast of Novigrad).

Ask for Olgierd von Everec.

Note: Quest rewards in the Hearts of Stone expansion work differently than in the base game and you're very likely to receive different amounts than what is listed here and for all other Hearts of Stone quests. See XP for more information.

Walkthrough[]

While visiting the notice board by the Seven Cats Inn you will see someone hanging a new contract on it. After a short conversation you can pick it up and read it, then go see Olgierd von Everec about the contract. When you get inside the residence his "friends" will mock Geralt and you can tell them you're there on business or mock them back and start a fistfight with one of them. If you choose the latter, winning the fistfight yields 150.

After all is said and done one of them will take you to Olgierd. You'll talk a lot before he reveals that his cook was killed by a monster when she went looking for a prince turned into a toad beneath the sewers of Oxenfurt. If you try to haggle, he will agree to pay 450 for the job. (150) Afterwards, as you exit the manor a woman will stop Geralt and offer him another job. If you agree this will start the Rose on a Red Field quest.

A Sewer Full of Surprises[]

Enter the Sewer through a well at the Oxenfurt market. When you descend, you can use your Witcher Senses to find lots of footprints - most are male, but one will be female. You're supposed to follow them, but there's only one possible route, so don't worry about that. You'll have to kill a drowner or two, but soon you will meet Shani who will be trying to save some soldier's life, but unfortunately he's already dead. After a conversation she will "agree" to be your guide and you'll find yourself in front of a locked grate door. Aard away the wall to one of its sides to continue.

Soon you will find more of the dead soldiers and Shani will tell you who had the key to the lower sewers. You can simply jump down the hole, but you will then miss out on conversations with Shani and minor items along the way. Find the Key to sewer gates on a corpse and return to the locked gate to open it. Soon you will find more bodies and drowners in the sewer tunnels. After getting rid of them, Geralt will examine one of the bodies and deduce the monster likes alcohol. You then have to fight more drowners to reach the lair. A cutscene will start and Geralt will use alcohol on a dead corpse to lure out the monster, after which the The Toad Prince will appear. Your potions and bombs will be automatically be replenished when the cutscene ends.

Fighting The Toad Prince[]

This can be a surprisingly tough fight. Don't expect it to be easy just because it's the first boss of the main story, it actually sets the tone for difficulty throughout the entire Hearts of Stone expansion.

The Prince will hop around a lot and knock you back. He also attacks from range with his tongue and regularly spits venom, sometimes using it almost as artillery fire. Even if you dodge that, it will leave poisonous fumes at times, so Golden Oriole is a must and if you have the superior version, you can use it to heal.

Northern Wind is effective, but has limited charges and this is a long fight. Instead, Yrden can be repeatedly used to pin the toad down for short spells and is very reliable. If you have Magic Trap unlocked, it will also work if it hits him. Also, if your sword has Replenishment, then charging it with Yrden will also work. If you have Active Shield unlocked, you can use it with Ancient leshen decoction to build up a massive stamina regeneration rate making the fight much more easy. You shold have Acquired Tolerance unlocked to drink more than one decoction. In which case use Archgriffin decoction as it will greatly reduce the duration of the fight as the Toad has a ton of health. Cursed oil isn't very effective for damage without the Archgriffin decoction, but excellent for defense with Protective Coating.

Once you build up your stamina regeneration, use Yrden to pin down the Toad. While you can't place multiple traps at once you can create a regular and enhanced version at same time. The enhanced sign is better as it will pin the Toad when it strikes it and can protect you against some of the ranged attacks, but it also takes longer to use. Regardless, once the Toad is pinned run up to it and use strong attacks or whirl. Even if you manage to land only 1 hit it should do more than enough damage due to the Archgriffin decoction. Rinse and repeat until you win.

After the Toad prince goes down to around 5% HP, a cutscene will play where it turns out he really was a prince. Geralt will slit the belly of the toad and will be covered in a toxic substance rendering him unconscious. The dead prince will transform back into his human form with his belly sliced open. Ofieri soldiers will then appear out of the tunnels to see this scene and, angry that Geralt killed their prince, they take him away to answer for his actions. (600)

Gaunter O'Dimm[]

Geralt will awaken in a prison cell aboard the Albatross ship to find he has been captured by soldiers from Ofir. You'll be talking to another prisoner, who introduces himself as Phelippe Calagrande and explains that he was a guide for the Ofieri soldiers in their search for the prince. Phelippe speaks Ofieri and will be able to translate the foreign language being spoken. The guards will interrupt to leave a bowl of food and insult Geralt. It turns out the soldiers pledged their honor to the king to return the prince back home alive. Now that Geralt has killed the prince, they are hoping to keep their honor by taking Geralt to Ofir to be executed. Geralt wants to speak to the captain and will ask Phelippe how to say the correct phrase, who will say Vhajlth alle'khe uhl eghullath. Right after this, a timed choice will appear and you will have to try and recall the phrase. Geralt will say the first word Vhajlth and then be given three choices as to how to finish the phrase:

...alle'khe yhll eghallith!
...alle'ghe urh yghilleth!
...alle'khe uhl eghullath!

The bottom choice is the correct one, and you get 200 for picking it. If you get the phrase wrong, you only speak gibberish and the guards laugh at you. Either way, the guards won't get you to their captain.

After Geralt gets "fed" by the soldiers, Phelippe will go to sleep and Gaunter O'Dimm will appear. He will offer to help in exchange for a favor. With no other option, Geralt will agree and Gaunter will then mark Geralt with a symbol on his face. Gaunter will make good on his promise, although in a quite unexpected way.

A storm erupts, leading to the ship to crashing and when Geralt wakes up he will be dragged along a beach by the soldiers. Geralt eventually frees himself and you'll now be fighting the remaining soldiers and a mage. This is optional and you can run away, but defeating them gives 200 and there's a lot of loot around too. A few things of note, if you choose to fight:

You start wearing only your trousers, boots and steel sword. However, all your gear is in your inventory and you can re-equip it immediately, as well as any oils or bombs. Similarly to the Toad fight, your potions and bombs will replenish at the start too.
The soldiers aren't hard to deal with alone and the mage himself will knock them down while targeting you. The mage is the actual threat here, but he won't take damage before you kill the soldiers. Be sure to avoid his deadly sand twister attack. You can interrupt it with Aard, but take care not to get too close.
Bleeding and poison effects are very effective against the mage since he constantly disappears/teleports away.
For some reason the dimeritium bomb has little effect against the mage, so using it wouldn't give you an advantage.
The mage is fairly easy once you learn how his attacks work. All of his magic attacks can be dodged and once you get close to him, you can land quite many hits, but don't do it for long as he will push you back with magic. However, you can dodge that magic push by moving back and then landing strikes on him again.
If you're having trouble, you can again rely on stamina regeneration. Ekhidna decoction is very useful for healing and you can stun the mage with Axii. Outside of that, just be patient as the mage teleports a lot and you have to wait for the right moment to strike.

After defeating the mage, you're free to loot chest that the soldiers dropped, as well as the crashed ship nearby.

Now it's time to meet Gaunter, as agreed. Go to Yantra where you will find some kids singing a very interesting song. Gaunter won't be here until at least 11PM, so you may have to meditate. When the meeting happens, he will reveal that Olgierd knew who the Toad Prince really was and that he is in debt to him too. However, before he can claim his debt, he must fulfill 3 tasks for Olgierd through a proxy, which is how he expects Geralt to pay his own debt. No matter what you say, you're left with no choice but to agree, even though Geralt makes no promises. You're then off to see Olgierd. (300)

Contract Fulfilled[]

Note: If you don't go to see Gaunter at Yantra and skip to this part, you will encounter him here and the dialogue differs slightly, including an option to mention the burning mansion. However, there are no real consequences for doing this and you even get the still.

Return to the Garin Estate to collect your pay, only to find it engulfed in flames and two of Olgierd's band members are about to kill one of their own for apparently violating the chivalric code. The first set of dialogue choices makes no difference in the outcome, but the second choice is important. If you threaten them ("Let him go or face my wrath"), Olgierd comes out of the burning house and challenges Geralt to a duel for the man's life. If you choose any of the other two options, Olgierd instead asks what's going on, which distracts Geralt and the man gets decapitated.

Fighting Olgierd (optional)[]

Do not underestimate Olgierd. He is easily the toughest human opponent you'll ever face. Especially on Death March as his attacks are capable of quickly taking out the whole health bar which makes Quen your best friend in this fight.

Olgierd fights similar to Ciri in some respects, as he can teleport around and do something similar to her Charge attack. However, if you manage to strike him while he is charging at you, he will start choking, thus allowing you to make a few easy hits on him. Aard, Igni and Yrden magic traps can also choke him if used when he charges. As with the Toad prince, he also has a lot of health thus using the Archgriffin decoction is recommended. However, you should only use strong attacks if you cause Olgierd to choke, otherwise he may block your attack and will only use up your stamina.

Additionally, almost his entire move-set can be parried letting you get a heavy follow up in. If specced into "Counterattack", it should only take five to seven parries & follow ups depending on critical strikes.

Unfortunately though, there's no reward for defeating him. Not even a regular kill .

Whether you fought him or not, it is revealed that Olgierd is immortal and you will get your promised 450 , as well as 400, after which Gaunter appears. You can ask about the Toad Prince and Gaunter will reveal how that whole thing happened. After that, Olgierd will send him away and talk with Geralt alone, ultimately revealing the first two tasks. After this conversation concludes, Geralt will leave the estate only to find Gaunter has been waiting for him. Gaunter reveals that while he cannot complete the tasks himself, there is no rule preventing him from helping. He then gives Geralt a few tips as well as a vial of Von Everec blood. The quest then ends and you're off to deal with the first two tasks, Open Sesame! and Dead Man's Party.

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 Seven Cats Inn 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.

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...

Objectives[]

Check the notice board outside Seven Cats Inn.
Go see Olgierd von Everec about the contract. (150 )
If Geralt starts a fight at the estate:
- Defeat your opponent. (150 )
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. (600 )
(Optional) Defeat the Ofieri warriors. (200 )
Meet Master Mirror at midnight at the crossroads beneath the willows. (300 )
Go see Olgierd. (400 + 450 )
If Geralt starts a fight at the estate:
- Defeat Olgierd.

Notes[]

A number of related, but unessential notes can be found during the quest - an Auction house letter in the room where Olgierd breaks the statue, Redanian Army orders on the corpse with the key in the sewers, as well as Note found in the sewers and Sodden letter from the female victims there. Additionally, a Prescription can be found at Shani's Clinic after she collects her venom sample. Later on the beach, a Letter from an Ofieri merchant can be found on the body of a mercenary that Geralt kills during the cutscene.
While Geralt has Gaunter's face mark, an additional dialogue option will be available with Ciri, Triss, and Yennefer, provided that they can still be found and talked to.

Trivia[]

When you first enter Garin's estate and ask to speak to Olgierd, the scene when everyone stands up claiming to be him is clearly inspired by the scene from the film Spartacus, when everyone claims to be Spartacus.
The sculptor of the statue Olgierd is inspecting is 'Votticelli', a reference to the Itallian rennaissance painter Botticelli
The duel between Olgierd and Geralt has many references to the duel between Kmicic and Wołodyjowski from the 1886 Polish novel The Deluge.
- Michał Wołodyjowski is the best sword fighter of Poland in the novel, while Geralt is the best sword fighter of the north and both win their respective duels
- The exchange of words between Geralt and Olgierd before their fight ("Would you wait sir, for the dribble to subside ?", "Makes no difference to me", "Justly said, Stand and fight!") which is the same as between Wołodyjowski and Kmicic only it is Wołodyjowski who makes the suggestion
- The duel is fought over someones life, only in the novel Wołodyjowski promises Kmicic that he will be allowed to go free if he manages to best him in their duel, while in the game Olgierd promises to spare the man that was about to be killed if Geralt manages to best him
- The duel takes place in a similar environment i.e. during the night while it's raining and torches are used to provide light, while in the game the torches are replaced with the burning estate
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 Season of Storms.