Letho

Letho of Gulet, also known as the Kingslayer, is a witcher from the School of the Viper. His closest associates are Auckes and Serrit, also Kingslayers from the same witcher school. For reasons which were initially unknown, he enlisted the help of Iorveth and his Scoia'tael guerrillas to aid him in his plan to kill the kings of the Northern Kingdoms. To back his claim, the man showed Iorveth a head he claims belonged to Demavend, King of Aedirn and Sovereign of the Pontar valley.

Letho is first seen in the Prologue, where he is revealed to be King Foltest's killer. In a later cutscene, he appears to have just killed King Demavend of Aedirn and comes to Iorveth's hideout seeking Scoia'tael assistance in killing Foltest.

In Chapter I, Letho attempts to betray Iorveth by trying to turn one of his lieutenants against him. However, the elf refuses and Letho kills his entire group, leaving the elf to be captured by Flotsam's guards. Geralt later brings Iorveth to Letho as a ruse to expose the latter's treachery. However, Iorveth and his Scoia'tael are attacked by the Blue Stripes, leaving Geralt and Letho to battle each other. Letho prevails in the battle with Geralt but once the witcher is down, he does not kill him. Letho explains that Geralt once saved his life, so with this small mercy they are now 'even' and leaves to kidnap Triss and force her to teleport them to Aedirn.

Geralt later learns that Letho is a Witcher of the Viper School. Geralt had first encountered him in the forests of Angren on July 25, 1270, while chasing the Wild Hunt in search of Yennefer. He had rescued Letho from death after the latter had been struck by a slyzard's tail. Letho works with two other witchers of the Viper School, Auckes and Serrit, who are the ones who attempt to assassinate King Henselt in Chapter II.

Geralt meets Letho for the final time in the Epilogue, right after the fight with Saesenthessis. The kingslayer waits for Geralt in the centre of the ruins by the Temerian Quarter. Geralt may ask about his intentions, the Wild Hunt, Yennefer and/or other major events. Geralt must then choose to either let Letho go or fight him to the death. Depending on the outcome of that choice, Letho will ultimately either leave or be killed by Geralt in their duel.

Journal entry

 * Disguised as a blind monk, the mysterious assassin took Geralt by surprise. Displaying immense self-control and lightning reflexes — not to mention a talent for acting — he murdered the king before the witcher's very eyes. He then leapt out the window of the solar before Geralt could grab him. Surviving the fall unharmed, the assassin fled with the aid of some Scoia'tael.


 * The information in Vernon Roche's possession served to confirm what Geralt had witnessed. A man matching the kingslayer's description had been seen in the company of Scoia'tael near the trading post of Flotsam. Finding him seemed like the witcher's only chance.


 * The mysterious individual now had a name. It appeared that this Letho, whoever he might be, was playing his own game — one in which the Scoia'tael had become an impediment. Yet his ultimate objective remained a mystery to Geralt.


 * Letho had indeed been working with the Squirrels, doing their wet work for them. Geralt would soon learn the answers to many more questions.


 * In the ruins of the elven bath, Geralt and the mysterious assassin stood eye to eye a second time. Geralt was surprised by what he learned. Letho of Gulet had been a witcher! What is more, there were other kingslayers, and they and Letho had worked together to assassinate the two dead northern monarchs. The witcher and the assassin were also no strangers — in fact, Geralt had once saved Letho's life. Their discussion ended abruptly as arrows whistled through the air and swords clashed. Letho demonstrated his strength and skills by beating Geralt black and blue. Before leaving, he announced that he was on his way to Aedirn.


 * The kingslayer proved true to his word and kidnapped Triss, wounding Cedric mortally in the process. He forced the sorceress to aid him by teleporting them both to Aedirn.


 * The magic sent Geralt a vision and gave us another bit of information. Letho had been in the area earlier and had ordered his accomplices to assassinate King Henselt. The kingslayers had been working with Síle de Tansarville, but, just as with Iorveth, their paths had diverged. Whatever finale would conclude this story, Letho claimed it would take place in Loc Muinne.


 * I listened to the rest of the tale with bated breath. Led to the summit by Nilfgaardian envoys, Letho publicly accused the sorcerers of commissioning the assassinations of the northern monarchs.


 * The kingslayer's intricate plan was revealed too late. Letho had been working for the Nilfgaardian Empire from the very beginning — his mission, to seed chaos before the Black Ones embarked upon a new war. Taking advantage of the ambitions of the Lodge of Sorceresses, its contacts and financial means — not to mention the support of the oblivious Scoia'tael partisans — Letho had eliminated two of the Nordlings' most important monarchs, plunging their realms into chaos.


 * On top of that, he had thrown suspicion on the sorcerers, who were just regaining their standing. Thus was the force which had stopped Nilfgaard at Sodden dealt a truly shattering blow.


 * Now Geralt had only to confront the kingslayer himself, so that the man could confirm or deny the witcher's suspicions. Only Letho knew the truth of the backroom intrigue which had left the north running with the blood of kings. Now I shall tell you about their final meeting, and its conclusion...

If Letho was not killed at Loc Muinne in the previous game, he can be found in No Man's Land in Velen, hiding at the Reardon Manor. When Geralt talks to him, he will reveal that after Loc Muine, Emperor Emhyr has decided to clean up loose ends - including himself. Despite his work for Nilfgaard, hired assassins have been hounding the Viper witcher ever since his last meeting with Geralt. Reardon family holdings were supposed to be a fool-proof hideout - until Louis, an associate who provided him with the hideout, betrayed Letho.

Geralt can choose to aid Letho in dealing with the bounty hunters and interrogating Louis. This inevitably leads to a showdown with the latter (and his men), though they are hardly a challenge for two veteran witchers. After the slaughter ends, Louis reveals that he sold Letho out to Nilfgaard's bounty hunter, Arnout Vester, in return for half the bounty and immunity from prosecution.

Confronting the Nilfgaardian, Letho asks Geralt not to intervene while he deals with them. He comes up, intimidates them, and gets shot in the arm for his trouble. The giant doesn't let that slow him down - he slaughters the bounty hunter's band until only he and two others are left. Then, he collapses due to the poison's effects. At this juncture, Geralt can intervene.


 * If Geralt intervenes, Arnout winds up chopped into pieces. He drags Letho away and waits for him to come to. When he does, Letho reveals that it was all a gambit: He paid off the crossbowman to shoot him with a poisoned bolt, so that he would enter a lethargic state and appear dead. That would cause news that Letho of Guleta is dead to spread, giving him peace. Letho decides that he has to disappear, but Geralt can invite him to Kaer Morhen, making him appear in the end game.
 * If Geralt doesn't, Letho's plan succeeds. Letho is dead - long live Letho!

Associated quests

 * The Fall of the House of Reardon (proximity)
 * Ghosts of the Past
 * The Battle of Kaer Morhen (determinant)
 * Blood on the Battlefield

Journal entry

 * Some friends you see after many years apart and you immediately develop a headache. Not out of antipathy, but as a somatic premonition of the hangover sure to follow your drunken reunion. Seeing others, however, gives you an itching pain in your back and a desire to reach for your blade.


 * For Geralt, Letho of Gulet had a foot in both of these camps. This renegade witcher of the school of the Viper had the blood of at least two Nordling kings on his hands, the fruit of his cooperation with Nilfgaard's emperor, Emhyr var Emreis. Accused of these crimes, Geralt was forced to chase down Letho to clear his own name. Though both walked away from their final confrontation in the ruins of Loc Nuinne alive and unharmed, Geralt did not think he would ever see Letho again.


 * It thus came as quite a shock when he happened across Letho in a barn loft somewhere in the war-ravaged Temerian borderlands.


 * It turned out Letho's former employer was less than satisfied with his performance and had set a variety of blood hounds on his trail. In these circumstances, the presence of another witcher to guard his back was more than welcome. Geralt, however, could not shake the bad taste left in his mouth by their prior interactions and went his own way, leaving Letho to clean up his own mess.

If Geralt kills Letho's pursuers:
 * In order to shake the hounds off his trail, Letho had decided on a risky maneuver — faking his own death. His plan would hve worked perfectly, too, had Geralt's hero reflexes not been a tad overstrung, causing him to butcher any and all witnesses who might have spread the news.

If Geralt goes along with Letho's plan:
 * In order to shake the hounds off his trail, Letho had decided on a risky maneuver — faking his own death. Although Geralt had no forewarning of this, he improvised with aplomb and sent Letho's pursuers off convinced they had rid the world of a kingslayer.


 * After that, there was nothing more for Letho to do but disappear. Geralt proposed he hide out at Kaer Morhen for a while, and after a bit of thought Letho agreed.

Gallery
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