The Path to Vision

The Path to Vision is a quest in Chapter II of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings if Geralt chooses Roche's path.

Walkthrough
You get this quest after completing Lost Lambs when you talk to the Relic peddler, in the Canteen of the Kaedweni camp. You are told that there is someone who knows many details about Sabrina's blood curse. You can also obtain the quest exploring the area around the Visionary's hut. Geralt needs to know what kind of connection there is between the death of Sabrina and a mysterious hermit living in the hut.

Basically two roads lead to the hut: one is on to the east of the military camp and goes into the gullies, where you can see three dead bodies. The corpses attract Rotfiends. The second is on the south-east of the camp and heads near the eastern entrance to the mist. Along the way, you can find a sign post and a group of soldiers, fighting against Wraiths and Rotfiends. Follow the trail and climb on the hill. You step into a glade where another group of soldiers is under attack by Endregas. Help them and then collect the remains. You find a note, a receipt showing a payment of some sort to the Visionary. If even one of the soldiers survives, he gives you the money to be taken to the hermit.

Then, lead on the path until you arrive at the Visionary's hut. Harpies attack you as you step in the area, and you also hear the voice of a man shouting to walk into the circle of candles as soon as possible. Monsters inexplicably cannot approach the candles. You can also ignore his warnings and keep slaying monsters, in exchange for some XP.

The Visionary inquires you about the soldiers you just saved and his payment. Then he askes you if you would rather to make him a modest donation of 400, or agree to become his "follower". Giving him the money determines the end of the quest. If you decide instead to become a follower, you get some interesting developments. Also, explore the hut to find The Visionary's notes II and III.

As his follower, the hermit asks you to undergo a ritual, in which you have to drink a special mixture and then meditate near the altar of Sabrina Glevissig. The altar is in the Endregas' glade. Be careful, cause you also will face an Arachas next to the pond. Wait for the right time, or meditate until dusk (after 20:00). Then, interact with the altar,. Geralt will meditate and drink the potion automatically.

You will soon have an hallucination, where a giant penis-shaped mushroom forest appears and a giant chicken... As you approach the chicken, the vision ends, and Geralt wakes up on a hill just above the altar. Nearby you can pick up The Visionary's notes I. That will make the sketch about him even more clear.

Head back to the hermit and report what you saw. If you tell him the truth, the Visionary tells you that he is satisfied and relieved, because it is the same vision that he had. In fact, it seems to be troubled by the fact that he does not receive any more message from the Sabrina's spirit.

Reading the notes finally you get that the Visionary is indeed Yahon, the soldier who pierced the sorceress chest with spear, in fact starting the curse. Moreover, it seems that together with his former comrade, the Relic peddler, he decided to do business spreading the cult of the sorceress, and selling relics to gullible soldiers. You also learn that the spear is in the hands of the Relic peddler. The quest ends here and you have one more clue on how to break the curse.

Journal entry

 * On his way to the Visionary, Geralt encountered a few of Henselt's soldiers fighting rotfiends. It was one of those insubordinate groups that had left the camp without permission. As the saying goes, fools rush where witchers fear to tread. Geralt, however, was not afraid and decided to help the soldiers.


 * If Geralt manages to save all of the soldiers being attacked by rotfiends:
 * The rotfiends were repelled, and the soldiers saved from certain death. It turned out the grunts had been going to see the Visionary, bringing him money for candles, but the fight with the monsters had drained their courage. One of the soldiers, trembling all the while, gave the witcher some money, asking him to deliver it to the hermit. And that was all that Geralt saw of them. With nothing left to do, our hero continued on his way to the Visionary.


 * If Geralt manages to save some of the soldiers being attacked by rotfiends:
 * ''Geralt killed the rotfiends, but there were casualties among the soldiers. The survivors had no wish to continue their trip into the wilderness, desiring only to return to camp. Henselt's grunts had wanted to reach the Visionary and pay him for the candles they bought. Since Geralt was heading there too, they asked him to deliver the money in their stead. Before he could say no, he was standing – a pouch of silver in hand – watching the dust rising behind the fleeing soldiers. Our hero shrugged and went to see the Visionary.


 * If Geralt doesn't manage to save the soldiers being attacked by rotfiends:
 * Geralt didn't manage to save any soldiers. Once he had got rid of the rotfiends, he began to wonder what a group of Kaedwenis had been doing in the middle of nowhere. Then, out of habit, he searched the corpses.


 * Our hero found a letter indicating that the soldiers had been carrying money to the Visionary, in payment for candles. And indeed, aside from the scrap of paper, the witcher also found a pouch, one with a pleasing heft. Since there was little else to do where he stood, Geralt resumed his trip to see the hermit.


 * If Geralt chooses to bribe the Visionary:
 * The soldiers didn't have all the money the Visionary had expected for his candles, so the witcher had to pay from his own pocket. He managed to get information on Sabrina Glevissig only after doing so.


 * If Geralt chooses to become a member of Sabrina's cult:
 * Geralt was in no mood to pay the Visionary, so he decided to become a member of the cult of Sabrina Glevissig instead, hoping it would cost him nothing. A mistake if he ever made one! The initiation ritual required him to spend the night by a shrine. Then our hero was to return and tell the Visionary what he saw. No problem, right? But there was one more thing: first he had to drink an herbal infusion of the Visionary's making. One supposedly bringing visions.


 * The vision that the Visionary's potion induced in Geralt was so intriguing that I'll take the liberty of explaining it to the less sophisticated readers. As you may know, Geralt's childhood was far from pleasant. He never met his father and his mother abandoned him. He chose a life full of risk and constantly teeters on the edge between death (he is a witcher, after all) and libido (by which I mean his frequent, fleeting romances). His yearning for a father and concern for his own masculinity were represented by those phallic mushrooms that weighed down on Geralt like prison bars in his dream. The huge waterfowl, on the other hand, represented his mother, that is: the omnipotent breast, the giver of life and death, whom Geralt loved and hated at the same time. In his dream, just as in life, our hero could not reach her. His libido was not satisfied, and his lust for destruction increased. In the dream the latter was represented by the unstoppable pecking. Thus our hero's fear of women, normally hidden behind his tough guy facade, was revealed. Obviously the witcher did not realize what he had seen or, if he did, he must have fallen into denial. As a simple-minded man, he went to give the Visionary a literal account.


 * To Geralt's surprise, the Visionary was extremely satisfied with his vision. It turned out that his own visions had recently ceased, replaced by phantasms identical to Geralt's. Thus the potion was to blame. Perhaps an error had crept into the formula. The hermit had feared his sanity was slipping away, so he breathed a sigh of relief. And since he was now in a good mood, Geralt began asking about Sabrina Glevissig. After all, the man's knowledge of the sorceress was vital if the Blood Curse I mentioned elsewhere was to be lifted.

Video
Auf dem Weg zur Erleuchtung En route vers le Visionnaire Sulla strada per il Visionario