Part 36 - The Witcher 3 - 2nd playthrough - Death March

The main quests in Skellige start with the funeral of the king. As it was customary among the Vikings - the culture Skellige is loosely based upon - one of his wives is sacrificed with him.

It is sure nice to see you again, Yennefer! Finally, my Geralt can interact with a real woman, not that little girl named Triss.

Those boots Yenn is wearing look awfully uncomfortable. :/

We discussed what Geralt had learned in Velen and Novigrad about Ciri's possible whereabouts - nothing - and how Yennefer couldn't even start her investigation of the destroyed forest, because the druid Ermion wouldn't let her near the area.

Ah, Skellige! There are some firsts you never forget, and in the life of a gamer, the first time arriving in Skellige is one of those. I'm terribly excited to be back on these harshly cold islands, and can't wait for all the adventures Geralt will have here!

The infamous stuffed unicorn. I'm amazed how nobody I read pointed out that doing it on a dead animal is quite perverted. People seem to have an issue with the unicorn making for an uncomfortable "bed" but not with the fact that it is a dead animal, and these characters like banging on it!

Geralt chose this outfit for attending the wake of King Bran. The other option looked like a bright blue bathrobe.

I was surprised Geralt made a comment about megascopes and "toothbrushes" being very personal items of sorceresses. It's the 13th century, I doubt people used toothbrushes. They more likely cleaned their teeth with a piece of cloth.

This looks awesome! Skellige is awesome! :)

We have arrived at the wake. Yenn commented that she likes my grown out beard. Wut? This is one of the very few details the developers didn't pay attention to. Yenn will say this whether your Geralt actually has a beard or is clean shaven like mine.

Cerys an Craite, daughter of the jarl of Ard Skellig. She will be one of the contenders for the throne of Skellige. I helped her become the new queen during my first playthrough which proved to be a good decision, so I will do the same this time.

I tried to speak with every interactable character at the wake this time. I know I hadn't heard this conversation before! These women are widows of warriors, and when Geralt expresses his concern for them, they assure him that they can take care of themselves and don't need men to look after them.

Then Yennefer makes this comment. I loved this little scene. :)

Get a load of this feast!

Before sneaking out with Yennefer to steal Ermion's mask from his laboratory and then spending a little time enjoying our dead animal fetish, I got into a fist fight with Madman Lugos, jarl of Clan Drummond. He is basically the biggest enemy of our host, Crach an Craite. When he insulted Yennefer, I decided to beat him up, but he was a level 30! How is that possible? The quest I was doing (The King is Dead - Long Live the King) is a level 16. So he kicked my arse. Later during this quest, Geralt hallucinates that some stuffed wild animals come back to life and attack him, and their level was "??"! I knew they were not real and couldn't really harm Geralt, but I hope this is not some enemy upscaling bug.

Ah, Skellige views. :)

We stole Ermion's mask that Yennefer needs I don't remember for what, but I'm sure it has something to do with finding Ciri. We arrived back at the wake to witness the contenders for the throne step forward and drop their weapons on the table. Outside, Crach offered his aid to us in searching for Ciri and asked for Geralt's help in protecting his children, Hjalmar and Cerys.

My Geralt has reached level 19. My plan is now to complete all side quests and contracts that are maximum level 22. To be honest, main quests in this game - while being brilliant - feel like occasional breaks from the even more brilliant secondary quests. :)