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"What a company I ended up with," Geralt continued, shaking his head. "... A poetaster with a lute. A wild and lippy half-dryad, half-woman. A vampire, who's about to notch up his fifth century. And a bloody Nilfgaardian who insists he isn't a Nilfgaardian." "And leading the party is the Witcher, who suffers from pangs of conscience, impotence and the inability to take decisions," Regis finished calmly. |
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| - pg. 234, Baptism of Fire (U.S. edition) | |||
Geralt's company (or hanza) consisted of Geralt, Dandelion, Milva, Cahir, Regis, and later, Angoulême.
History[]
The group had originally formed shortly after escaping Fort Armeria, despite Geralt's protests over Cahir and Regis joining. Through a variety of events and information, the group began to head south, to Riverdell, in hopes of finding the druids Regis mentioned that could help find Ciri. However, while in Riedbrune, Geralt was informed by the city's new governor, Fulko Artevelde, that the Nightingale gang had been hired by a then unknown half-elf to kill the witcher. Seeing a chance to take out the gang, Fulko, under no uncertain terms, asked Geralt to take care of it lest he inform his superiors what the group was really up to. As part of the deal though, Geralt asked to have Angoulême join him under the pretense of her being knowledgeable about the group, as she'd been with them before running away. However, this was also done to save her life, as the information she gave was only to buy her an easier, quicker death at Fulko's hands.
And so, as night fell and the rest were informed about the Nightingale gang, they declared once more they were a hanza, committed to finding and rescuing Ciri, or at least getting revenge if she was dead. However, by October the group reached Toussaint and Dandelion, having been a former paramour of Duchess Anna Henrietta, soon rekindled their relationship and decided he was going to stay in Beauclair. Their mission was also jeopardized by Fringilla Vigo, a visiting sorceress and the duchess' cousin, who took a liking to Geralt to keep him in Toussaint until May under the Lodge of Sorceresses' orders, as they had their own plans laid out for Ciri. This worked until early January, when it became clear that Geralt still loved Yennefer and, on overhearing a conversation, learned exactly where Vilgefortz's hideout was. In a last ditch effort, Fringilla wooed the witcher one last time before he left, getting him to reveal the location. However, having not trusted the sorceress, Geralt actually gave her a false location before leaving Toussaint with his company, sans Dandelion.
The company, riding through a blizzard in the various mountain passes, eventually made their way to Stygga Castle in Ebbing and began their assault. While it initially went well, with most of the mercenaries running away, they soon faced heavy opposition that resulted in Milva and a rival archer firing at each other simultaneously, mortally wounding each other. Shortly after, Angoulême and Cahir found Ciri, who was being pursued by Leo Bonhart and mercenaries, with one of the latter stabbing Angoulême in the thigh. Cahir stayed behind to fight Bonhart while the two women took off, but the knight was soon slain by the bounty hunter and Angoulême died soon after from too much blood loss. Meanwhile Regis went to help Yennefer and Geralt, who were pinned down by Vilgefortz, and while he managed to save Yennefer's life, Regis was torn apart and melted down by Vilgefortz.
After Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer successfully dealt with the opposition, they buried the deceased members outside the castle.
Notes[]
- Cahir explains that the word Hansa (or Hassa) derives from the Nilfgaardian phrase "aen hanse" meaning "gang"
- Out of all the members, only Geralt survived the assault and Dandelion only survived as he left the company before then, and was in Toussaint.
Gallery[]
