Detmold

"Do you really wish to know?" — Spoilers from the books and/or adaptations to follow!

	Well then, let's get to work.
- Dethmold to Geralt Audio version: Media:Dethmold voice line.ogg

Detmold (Dethmold^[1]) was a flaxen-haired mage from Pont Vanis who studied in the magic school of Ban Ard. His brother, Drithelm, was in the service of King Esterad of Kovir.

Personality

Compared to other mages, Dethmold had a surprisingly pleasant attitude. He could be courteous and friendly, although he likely had ulterior motives for being nice. This could have also been a ploy to make himself appear as less of a threat to others. Despite his friendly projection, his appearance and attire have been known to terrify several people.^[2]

Later on, he revealed he was at least partially sadistic, delighting in the torture of prisoners and had brutally killed and mutilated victims with magic. He also had no qualms with performing necromancy, a banned form of magic.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Dethmold is a main character in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. He was the mage advisor to King Henselt and featured heavily in the plot if Geralt allied himself with Vernon Roche. His hair color was not apparent in the game, if he even had any left. Dethmold was amoral and would do anything to gain power for himself and/or Kaedwen, including kidnapping Anais La Valette if Geralt did not join Iorveth in Chapter I.

Dethmold had no scruples when it came to kidnapping, execution or other socially frowned upon actions. He had a non-existent morality - and this carried on to his advisee, Henselt of Kaedwen. He was however also loyal to not only Henselt but Kaedwen as a nation.

As revealed during Chapter III on Roche's path, Dethmold was also homosexual. He was seen with his manservant who was also his sex slave (though it is not proven besides the words of the servant himself) while preening in front of a vanity, gently caressing his acne, warts and zits. There were a number of suggestive items scattered around his chambers in Loc Muinne. Dethmold also had an apprentice and a little commando for his safeguard.

On Roche's path, depending on the circumstances, Dethmold could either slip through Geralt's grasp or he could be brutally killed by Roche. On Iorveth's path he would be executed on Saskia's orders.

Developer comments

Comments about Dethmold from the CDPR developers Jan Bartkowicz (Story Writer), Artur Sliwinski, (Story Writer), Arkadiusz Borowik (Story Writer) and Jan Marek (Concept Artist) taken from the "Dev Diary 3:

Sorcerer Dethmold is one of the more distinctive characters in the Witcher 2. One of the more distinctive, and one of the most despicable too. Dethmold, one of the witcher's opponents, is a wind mage. We thought hard on how should he look to become synonymous with that element. We dressed him... warmly. His entire neck. As if he lived in a constant draught. And we gave him a staff with a rooster weathervane usually found on roofs.

Dialogues with this guy are generally wacky, because Dethmold is... Dethmold is so... unsettling, I should think. We were looking for an appropriate voiceover for Dethmold for a long time. We wanted him to be a guy whose voice sends shivers down your spine, signalling something is way off.

Associated quests

Journal entry

Apart from a few chance encounters at official banquets, Geralt had the occasion to meet and speak more extensively with this sorcerer on Thanedd Island, during the bloody coup, when all manner of mages jumped at each others' throats and their Council and Conclave ceased to exist. Dethmold and his brother Drithelm, both in the service of King Esterad of Kovir at the time, attempted to remain neutral as events unfolded. To no avail, however, as those who had allied themselves with Nilfgaard thought nothing of the impartiality of others, and many mages simply perished, brought down in fanciful ways by their colleagues' spells or pierced by the arrows of the Scoia'tael summoned to the island by the plotters. Drithelm met just such a fate, while Dethmold saved himself by fleeing.

Dethmold then filled the opening for a sorcerer-advisor at the court of King Henselt of Kaedwen, and proceeded to place all of his abilities at the monarch's disposal.

All said and done, Dethmold was certainly a talented sorcerer. It was only his power that brought the king and his retinue safely through and out of the mist of wraiths.

The sorcerer believed that the ends justified the means and thought nothing of the ethical ban on necromancy.

If Geralt chooses Roche's path during the end of chapter I:

The sorcerer was Henselt's creature in full, a lackey who served his master in any way possible. This included tracking real and imagined spies and thwarting conspiracies on the monarch's life. He was also among those chiefly responsible for the deaths of Vernon's men, whose grisly demise Henselt himself had ordered.

Dethmold fled, unwilling to risk a clash with the witcher. It proved a sound decision, which bought him a bit more time in this life.

Their next meeting proved to be their last, as Dethmold died at the hands of the vengeful Roche. Geralt never revealed the details of the sorcerer's demise. I've concluded that it must have been quite savage, though I would prefer to hope that Vernon's threats had been but figures of speech...

If Geralt chooses Iorveth's path during the end of chapter I:

During the Battle of Vergen, Dethmold aided the attackers, using his magic to destroy fortifications and key defensive positions. It is clear that had they been deprived of his talents, the Kaedwenis would not have penetrated so far.

Though Henselt was spared because of his royal lineage, Dethmold met a fate appropriate for a tyrant's faithful and hated servant. The sorcerer's life ended in the central square of Vergen, a town he had hoped to help seize and bring to its knees.