Precious Cargo

The merchant Geralt found standing by the side of the road in White Orchard was extremely distraught. He had been hauling some precious goods to the Nilfgaardian camp when his horse spooked and veered off the road, pulling the merchant's cart with it and dumping the whole works in the foggy swamp outside the camp. The poor horse became trapped in the muck and soon was devoured by the monsters who inevitably lurk in such places. The merchant was understandably afraid to go retrieve his goods, and thus asked the witcher to do it for him - in return for a sizable reward.

The witcher found the merchant's priceless cargo and the grateful man repaid him in gold for his trouble. The contract had turned out to be a simple one, without any moral dilemmas or wrenching doubts about where lesser evil lay, and to top it all off it ended with a satisfactory and immediately-paid reward - the witcher surely wished they could all be like that.

Seemingly straightforward stories often turn out to be anything but. The witcher found the merchant's cart - and beside it signs of a malicious attack organized by human hands. It seemed the merchant had not told Geralt the whole truth. The confrontation that followed confirmed the witcher's suspicions - rather than stay to plead his innocence, the merchant immediately ran as fast as his legs could take him.

It turned out the "merchant" was no merchant at all, but a Temerian guerrilla. After Geralt heard the man explain his story and motives, he decided to let him go to continue his futile battle against the Nilfgaardian occupiers. Do not act so surprised, dear reader - witchers might be neutral by principle, but it was no secret where Geralt's sympathies lay in the struggle between the Northern Realms and the Nilfgaardian Empire.

It turned out the "merchant" was no merchant at all, but a Temerian guerrilla. Though Geralt was skeptical about the man's chances in his partisan struggle against the mighty Nilfgaardian occupier, he decided to let him go... but kept the priceless object for himself. Perhaps he thought rewarding a cheat would not be the proper thing to do - or perhaps he was driven by a simple need for coin. It is not my place to judge, dear reader.

It turned out the "merchant" was no merchant at all, but a Temerian guerrilla. With his back against the wall, the soldier called on high ideals and Geralt's sense of patriotism in order to convince the witcher of the worthiness of his cause - but to no avail, for Geralt nevertheless handed him over to the nearest Nilfgaardian outpost. The witcher was clearly of the opinion that someone who acts like a bandit should end like a bandit, no matter how lofty his declared motives.

Geralt chased after the lying merchant but the scoundrel managed to give him the slip. He never did find out what really had happened out there in the murky swamps of White Orchard.