Best Short Stories By Andrzej Sapkowski

Key Takeaways

• The Witcher originated as short stories, defining Geralt’s character and building the world.
• Memorable moments in the stories include Geralt’s deal with a djinn and a hunt for a golden dragon.
• Geralt’s encounters with characters like Dudu and Ciri lay the foundation for the iconic saga.

Before becoming a critically acclaimed video game trilogy with award-winning writing, The Witcher started out as a series of short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. He couldn’t have dreamed of the popularity this series would attain after a fledgling Polish video game developer bought the rights to this IP and turned it into one of the most recognizable dark fantasy franchises of all time.

A series of novels followed after the success of Sapkowski’s short stories, which helped bring to life the legacy of Geralt and his varied (and powerful) friends. His short stories stand out for their incredible characterization and worldbuilding, detailing several adventures he embarked on that set the stage for many of the novels. These short stories are a blast to experience and show the strong worldbuilding at play in the author’s now iconic works.

Spoiler Warning: this list delves into story spoilers from The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, two short story collections by Andrzej Sapkowski.

8 The Witcher

Features Geralt’s Iconic Fight With A Striga

• Published in: The Last Wish

Most fans of the video game series remember the introductory cinematic of The Witcher, with Geralt taking on a striga and trying to undo its curse. This was an adaptation of one of the most iconic short stories penned by Sapkowski.

To this day, players love the excellent action-packed writing and worldbuilding present in this story, showing off the dark fairytale influences of The Witcher for everyone to see. Geralt’s attempts to survive until the morning and undo this curse make for a memorable sight that fans can’t get enough of.

7 The Lesser Evil

The Story That Caused Geralt To Be Known As The Butcher Of Blaviken

• Published in: The Last Wish

Geralt is known by many nicknames, with The White Wolf being a rather flattering way to describe his legacy. However, another nickname that he doesn’t care for all that much is the Butcher of Blaviken, attained after he carried out a one-man massacre of his enemies in this town for everyone to see.

Despite technically being in the right and preventing two evil parties from seeing their plans come to fruition, Geralt’s attempts to save the townsfolk earned him their derision instead. Witchers were seen as mutated devils, and seeing one cut down numerous people without the context surrounding his actions led to him being thrown out and labeled as the Butcher of Blaviken.

6 A Question Of Price

A Series Of Events That Leads To Ciri Becoming Geralt’s Child Of Surprise

• Published in: The Last Wish

The threat of destiny that tied Geralt and Ciri’s fate together appeared after the witcher intervened in the castle of Cintra. During a royal feast, chaos erupts when a cursed man reveals himself to be Pavetta’s beloved, causing a chain of events that led to Geralt being requested by Queen Calanthe to sort this mess out.

Eventually, the curse on Duny is dispelled when Pavetta is slated to be wed to him. When the couple asks Geralt what he wants, the witcher surprises everyone by invoking the Law of Surprise, which is soon followed by the revelation that Pavetta is pregnant with a girl who will grow up to become Ciri.

5 The Last Wish

An Encounter With A Djinn Leads To Geralt And Yennefer Being Bound By Destiny

• Published in: The Last Wish

Geralt and Yennefer’s tumultuous relationship is one of the most riveting plotlines in The Witcher series. Both parties met each other in a chance encounter, but it’s what Geralt did to thwart Yennefer’s plans that tied their fates together for good.

After Yennefer tries to control a djinn’s power but fails, Geralt surprises everyone by making the third and last wish after realizing that he was technically the one who uncovered the djinn, not Dandelion. He wishes to bind his fate with Yennefer for good and kickstarts one of the most heated romances in dark fantasy literature.

4 The Bounds Of Reason

A Memorable Hunt For A Golden Dragon

• Published in: Sword of Destiny

An amazing story that revolves around Geralt joining a caravan hunting down a golden dragon, this mission gives Geralt and Yennefer an excuse to reunite and stoke the flames of romance once again. It helps that encountering the dragon, Villentretenmerth, makes for an imposing moment in the books.

Yennefer’s attempts to reverse her infertility by striking a deal with this dragon fail, and she can’t help but feel a stinging sense of sorrow at the inability to have a child. Meeting the dragon first in his human form, Borch Three Jackdaws, makes him one of the most interesting characters in the series.

3 Eternal Flame

Depicts Geralt’s First Encounter With Dudu

• Published in: Sword of Destiny

Dudu is a character players must find in Novigrad to bring Geralt one step closer to finding Ciri in The Witcher 3. Fans of the books know the first instance when this doppler and the White Wolf crossed paths, making for a memorable encounter in this city long before the events of the Witcher games.

Dudu took on the form of a merchant named Dainty and sold his horses to buy goods that were supposedly worthless. However, this turns out to be a stroke of genius when it’s revealed that the items Dainty bought will be used in the construction of altars for the Eternal Fire throughout the city. It’s a lighthearted story that shows another side of Sapkowski’s brutal fantasy world.

2 The Sword Of Destiny

Ciri And Geralt Meet For The First Time In Brokilon

• Published in: Sword of Destiny

The first time Geralt and Ciri cross paths makes for a memorable story. After seeing a bunch of dead children who ventured too deep into the forest of Brokilon, Geralt is escorted by the dryads residing here to the heart of the forest.

It’s here that he meets Ciri for the first time and negotiates her freedom from Brokilon’s queen, Eithne. It’s a great story, and both characters would have no idea of the thread of destiny that connected them both in their first encounter.

1 Something More

Geralt Tries To Locate Ciri After The Fall Of Cintra

• Published in: Sword of Destiny

The Fall of Cintra is a tragic moment in the series, with Nilfgaard invading the city and killing the queen to take over. The Battle of Sodden takes place not long after, and Geralt heads to the scene of the carnage to find the child destined to meet him as ordained by the Law of Surprise.

He believes that Ciri is long gone after a fruitless search and heads to a merchant’s house, where the family took in a girl lost after the Nilfgaardian invasion. Geralt can’t believe his eyes when Ciri comes out, the two running toward each other to share a hug that cements their relationship for good.