Over the course ofThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the player encounters countless monsters terrorizing the people of the Continent. However, some quests have Geralt coming face to face with malevolent humans, far more beastly than the monsters outside settlement boundaries. One quest that showcases this perfectly is Carnal Sins.
After the player saves Dandelion from the Temple Guard and helps with fixing up the Rosemary and Thyme, Priscilla is attacked on opening night. Dandelion and Geralt then rush to the hospital, and the bard asks Geralt to find who did this to Priscilla. This automatically triggers theWitcher 3quest Carnal Sins.
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The Carnal Sins Quest of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Unlike theother quests ofThe Witcher 3, this one takes on a more investigative route. Rather than simply following a trail left by a monster, Geralt follows clues left behind by Priscilla’s attacker and interviews people relevant to the case. The latter includes Joachim von Gratz, a doctor who values “preventive medicine” and seeks to apprehend the serial killer. He and Geralt break into the morgue to examine the murderer’s past victims, only to be caught by the coroner Hubert Rejk and Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi of the Church of the Eternal Fire.
The reverend is understandably displeased by the Geralt and Joachim’s presence, but Hubert covers for them, later agreeing to help Geralt with the case. At this point, the player must investigate three areas to gather more clues about the attacks. In doing this, Geralt will learn the specifics of each attack — the use of formaldehyde and coals in the victim’s eye sockets — as well as collect the notes labeled “Concerned Citizen’s sermon.”TheWitcher 3quest then prompts Geraltto return to Hubert. The two then look over the body of the latest victim and find a patch of skin with a message from the murderer — the name of the next victim: Patricia Vegelbud.
By the time Geralt arrives at the Vegelbud estate (where theVegelbud Ball takes place in anotherWitcher 3quest), Patricia’s daughter, Ingrid, welcomes Geralt. She also mentions that her mother has begun to question her faith in the Eternal Fire. Thus, there are mounds of books burning around the grounds — all tomes about the Eternal Fire. This presents a commonality between all the victims: They all acted out against the Eternal Fire somehow.
When Geralt enters Patricia’s bedroom, she will already be dead, with the killer fleeing the scene. The player can try to chase down the murderer but will always fail, leaving them to investigate the scene of the crime instead. On Patricia’s body, Geralt will find another message left by the murderer: Sweet Nettie – Crippled Kate’s. Interestingly enough, the culprit has included the location too.
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Witcher 3 Carnal Sins: The Fake Culprit and the True Culprit
Upon arriving at Crippled Kate’s, one of the patrons will tell Geralt not to disturb Sweet Nettie as she’s with a “very important client.” Though, of course, the player must barge into the client’s roomto progress the Carnal Sins quest. There, they find Reverend Nathaniel torturing Sweet Nettie, who’s been bound to a chair. Geralt can either attack the reverend outright or speak to them about their methods. Note, however, that Reverend Nathaniel isn’t the true culprit of the recent killings and attacking him bars Geralt from finding the real killer.
Choosing to talk to Reverend Nathaniel prompts him to deny his connection to the attacks on Priscilla, Patricia Vegelbud, and the rest of the victims. Geralt will also note a discrepancy as the reverend isn’t using any formaldehyde or coals in his torture methods. This leads Reverend Nathaniel to think that someone framed him, but only one person knew where he’d be: Hubert Rejk. With the true serial killer revealed, the player can choose to either let the reverend go or kill him. It should be noted that killing him dropsa uniqueWitcher 3weapon.
At this point, the quest will prompt Geralt to go to the warehouse where Hubert is. Once there, Hubert will reveal that he is a vampire, and the two will have a short conversation on his motivations — “coals for those who are blind to the fire, the egg of a salamander born of fire to replace their cold, doubting hearts,” and so on. In short, Hubert is a faithful follower of the Church of the Eternal Fire, and he believes that drastic measures must be taken forthe people of Novigrad inThe Witcher 3to become “decent” and “moral” again. His victims were meant to be a brutal example. Luckily, his string of murders ends as Geralt kills him in the warehouse.
The Monsters of the Witcher World
Geralt has a very loose definition of the term “monsters.” His job is to kill monsters. However, he gives a pass to “sentient monsters” and has no problem killingevil humans inThe Witcher 3. The quest Carnal Sins perfectly encapsulates this fact as the player is given the option to kill both Reverend Nathaniel and Hubert.
Nathaniel Pastodi was reportedly a torturer before he was promoted to reverend inThe Witcher 3,though it’s clear that his religious background doesn’t bar him from being a vile human being. The quest exposes the reverend for the cruel sadist he is — more monstrous than eventhe most dangerous creatures inThe Witcher 3. Moreover, it calls into question why Eternal Fire would promote a torturer, of all people, to a high-ranking holy official in the first place.
Even the righteousness of the Church of the Eternal Fire is called into question. Though the supposed moral high ground of the holy organization isundermined during otherWitcher 3quests, this one has to be one of the most damning instances. The Eternal Fire supposedly exists to guide its followers through the darkness — a herald of progress and a sign of better days to come. However, this bright future can only be achieved at the expense of nonhumans, beasts, and even Witchers.
This aggressive stance against the abnormal turns the followers of the Eternal Fire into hateful zealots, and Hubert is an excellent example of this but taken to the extreme. Other, more common instances of this can be seen in the bloodthirsty witch hunters (though they’re some ofthe rarest enemies in theWitchergames) and corrupt temple guards ofThe Witcher 3.Overall, it’s a chilling reminder of what maniacal belief can come to, and how it can turn humans — and other sentient beings — into monsters.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
