The Blood and Wine DLC in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was the final expansion added to the game. It primarily features the land of Toussaint as well as some memorable vampire characters. However, one part of the DLC’s main questline seems to be referencing a character from the last major expansion, Hearts of Stone.
In The Witcher 3 quest “La Cage au Fou,” Geralt encounters a spotted wight, a rare necrophage. Though this particular wight is special as it appears to have once been a woman, cursed to become beastly. Even more surprising here is that the game subtly hints at who cast the curse — Gaunter O’Dimm.
Gaunter O’Dimm in The Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone Expansion
Gaunter O’Dimm is one of the first people the player meets in White Orchard. He assists the Witcher in his search for Yennefer by directing him to the nearby Nilfgaardian garrison before disappearing without a trace — certainly a memorable introduction. However, Geralt doesn’t cross paths with him until much later in the game, specifically in The Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone DLC.
In the main storyline of Hearts of Stone, Geralt is pushed into working with the mysterious O’Dimm and must help in concluding a contract between the mirror merchant and Olgierd von Everec. Though as the player goes about the necessary tasks, it becomes increasingly clear that The Witcher 3’s O’Dimm is no mere mortal. Moreover, he’s fond of toying with humans — cursing them or pulling them into unfair agreements.
Throughout the course of the main quest, Geralt learns that O’Dimm is capable of many, seemingly impossible deeds — taking souls, causing specters immense pain, and even stopping time. Though the Witcher questions O’Dimm about these abilities, the mirror merchant refuses to reveal his true nature. All he admitted was that he was neither demon nor djinn in The Witcher world, and that all who had learned his name either went mad or died. Thus, Geralt didn’t need to know.
Professor Premethine Shakeslock of the Oxenfurt Academy, however, knew much about O’Dimm’s true nature. He referred to the mirror merchant as “Evil Incarnate” and explained to the Witcher that Gaunter O’Dimm was only one of the entity’s many names — a list of which would date back thousands of years and across countless cultures. His one weakness: O’Dimm could easily be tempted into making a pact with someone if it was their soul at stake. Should that person keep their end of the bargain (though they rarely do), O’Dimm would always keep his word. This knowledge would allow the player to save Olgierd from O’Dimm’s wrath.
The Spotted Wight in ‘La Cage au Fou’
Though it seems Olgierd isn’t the only one whom Geralt can rescue from O’Dimm’s dirty tricks. In “La Cage au Fou,” a main quest in The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC, Geralt must acquire saliva from a spotted wight that happened to be residing in the nearby ruins of the Trastamara Estate. That, in itself, is already strange as Geralt remarks early on that spotted wights were culled to extinction more than a century prior.
Still, Geralt makes his way to the estate and finds the spotted wight. Should the player decide to save the creature in The Witcher 3, they must find a way around the curse. Successfully doing so will make the spotted wight change into a woman, and Geralt will take her to his home in the Corvo Bianco Vineyard. It’s then revealed that the spotted wight had been the baron’s daughter, Marlene de Trastamara.
The Curse on Marlene de Trastamara
As a young woman, Marlene enjoyed holding parties in her home, inviting people from all across Toussaint in The Witcher 3. But one day, a beggar arrived during one of her parties. With a bowl and spoon in hand, he asked Marlene for food, but she refused him, saying she’d rather give the scraps to the dogs. With that, the beggar cursed her, and Marlene slowly changed into a spotted wight. She’d ignored the ancient rite of Toussaint hospitality. Thus, she must face the ultimate consequence.
Now, a woman turning into a monster for refusing a beggar food seems extreme, and the reason for this is that the curse was cast by Gaunter O’Dimm — at least, it’s heavily hinted in the game. The first hint can be found in a decaying letter lying somewhere in the ruined Trastamara Estate. It was written by Marlene long ago, before she’d fully transformed into a spotted wight. In the letter, she cites two people who might be the cause of her misfortune.
The first was a Witcher 3 herbalist who had disappeared without a trace after a visit from Marlene. Suffice to say, the unnamed herbalist was not the culprit. Marlene’s second suspect was the beggar, who apparently, was a merchant of mirrors. Difficult to call this a coincidence, considering the nature of the curse and the fact that O’Dimm is also known as Master Mirror.
That said, the second hint is far more telling. After saving Marlene and letting her stay in Corvo Bianco, the player can speak to the majordomo, Barnabas-Basil Foulty, about her arrival. When Geralt starts telling him the story of the spotted wight, Gaunter O’Dimm’s soundtrack begins to play in the background. This all but confirms that O’Dimm was the mysterious beggar that cursed Marlene, and he likely won’t be happy that Geralt decided to lift The Witcher 3 curse.
Aside from these two main pieces of evidence, there are other, contextual factors that point to O’Dimm’s involvement in Marlene’s curse. For one, the actual curse was phrased in the form of a riddle, which is in line with O’Dimm’s usual methods (like in Geralt’s “boss battle” with him to save Olgierd’s soul). Additionally, O’Dimm in The Witcher 3 Hearts of Stone comes off as a man who values etiquette and courtesy. This is especially apparent in how he operates because he always keeps his word. And because Marlene failed to adhere to an ancient tradition, he thought it apt to punish her for it.
If anything, O’Dimm’s very minor role in The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine is a reminder that no one can run away from him. Even if Geralt outsmarts him in Hearts of Stone, he doesn’t die, merely walks away. Eventually, he will be back, and the player will pay for their actions.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
