I had just arrived in Flotsam and started asking around about the possibility of work when I was called in by commandant Bernard Loredo and his brother Louis Merse along with an elf called Scathe. Loredo said he had a job and explained that there was a witcher in town called Bulgar and he wanted us to find out what he was up to and report back what he did. He said the witcher was supposed to be dealing with the Kayran problem. The Kayran was an aquatic monster terrorising the local shipping. The witcher had been last seen in the forest and Loredo said we should speak with the tower guards. Loredo did not offer payment but said he would come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Went out into the forest and found the witcher where the guards said he had gone. He had just killed a group of small slimy creatures and there was also a dead elf nearby. The witcher claimed the elf was killed by the slimy creatures which were called nekkers. The witcher was quite rude to Scathe saying he did not need help. While they argued, a wagon carrying barrels emerged from the forest heading towards the river. The driver was taking the barrels to the troll who lived under the bridge so he did not become angry.

The witcher headed off into the forest and we followed. After a short distance he came to a stone monolith. There were some steps at the base leading downwards. He brushed aside the undergrowth and descended the steps. I got out my lantern and we followed. The stairs descended into a large room, at the far end of which was a pool of water, and there were several bodies of soldiers lying on the floor around the room. There were black roses growing from the bodies which the witcher started plucking from the nearest corpse, but as the witcher approached a second body, they suddenly all animated.

The witcher immediately decapitated the body he had been harvesting of the roses but the head rolled into the pool and a hideous grave hag bust from the water. Scathe created some illusionary figures which distracted some of the animated corpses, then blasted one of the animated bodies with fire and turned it to ash. The witcher took multiple critical hits fighting all the monsters but finally Scathe hit the grave hag with a ball of fire which turned it to ash, causing all the animated corpses to immediately collapse to the ground.

While I patched of the witcher, Scathe summoned a spectre of one of the dead bodies and spoke to it. It was a Tamerian soldier which had been sent to bury a treasure over 100 years ago but had been killed by the hag. It asked for their bodies to be buried and offered the location of the treasure in return. As they were happy to be buried at sea we put the bodies in the pool. We followed the directions to a nearby tree and dug beneath it. About a foot down we found a chest inside which was a mouldy vellum sack. Inside the sack was 1400 oruns which we split between us. The witcher Bulgar started acting in a more friendly manner towards us having realised he was not so special or powerful and in fact needed the fire power of Scathe and my medical skills.

Bulgar explained he was trying to kill the Karvan and had found its lair. He also had some anti venom for its spit. We returned to Flotsam where we visited Melina in Loberton who used the black roses to create a mutagen for Bulgar which increased his resistance to damage. Having worked out the Kayran was probably some sort of mutant insect I then made an insectoid oil to help Bulgar defeat it.

While Bulgar rested to recover from his wounds he introduced us to an acquaintance called Sile who said another mage in Blaviken needed the urgent assistance of a witcher and suggested we could travel there after defeating the Kayran. We had some drinks with her then she took Scathe up to her room for a while. In the morning myself and Scathe reported back to Loredo what Bulgar had been doing. Loredo said Bulgar was expected to be paid 1000 crowns for defeating the Kayran but he was only willing to pay 500. However he said he would pay us an additional 100 each if we persuaded Bulgar to accept the 500. We then told Bulgar what Loredo had offered us.

When Bulgar had recovered we trekked through the forest to a section of river bank near a shipwreck where Bulgar thought the Kayran laired. We found trails of mucus across the river bank so Bulgar tethered a goat on the bank and we waited in the edge of the forest. Suddenly a tentacle erupted from the sea towards the goat and Bulgar charged it. He severed the tentacle but another three erupted from the water. He severed a second tentacle and Scathe blasted a third with shards of ice before he has grabbed by the tentacle. Bulgar quickly severed the third tentacle to free Scathe but the last tentacle ceased Bulgar and dragged him under the water. Shortly afterwards a huge creature erupted from the water with Bulgar in its mouth. Scathe hit it with a blast of fire, killing the monster and it slipped back into the water with Bulgar still in its mouth. We waited and eventually Bulgar cut himself out after harvesting some organs and teeth from the Kayran which he later traded to Sile for another mutagen.

We returned to Flotsam and visited Loredo's office where we were told by a couple of guards that he had left and to come back in a few days. Bulgar cast a spell on one and instructed him to go away then bullied the other to let us pass. Loredo was in his office and argued about payment but finally agreed to pay us 750 crowns He instructed Merse to pay us. Merse then gave us a bag of coins with a wink. The bag contained the full 1000 crowns showing Merse to be a far more sensible individual than his brother. We then left Flotsam quickly and caught a boat to Blaviken.