Morkvarg

"Sons and daughters of Freya, another year has passed in which Morkvarg plagues our goddess' gardens. Whoever musters the courage to eliminate this evil will gain fame amongst mortals and the favor of the immortals, as well as a prize from the temple's vault"

- The contract on Morkvarg

Morkvarg is a villain in the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Initially a vile and brutal pirate, a curse turned him into a werewolf. He is encountered by Geralt at Freya's Garden on Hindarsfjall, where there is a contract on his head.

He is encountered in the mission In Wolf's Clothing.

Past
Morkvarg is considered one of the most evil and brutal men from Skellige. Ten years prior to the events of the game, he and his crew pillaged and raped coastal villages around Skellige, even those belonging to his own clan. Morvarg even raped and killed pregnant women and girls. At one point, Morvarg was paid by Tjostar the Wise for sparing Tjostar's village located on Rannvaig. Morkvarg took the money and Tjostar, pleased with the deal, called off the watch. Morkvarg and his men returned in the night, slit the villager's throats while they slept and raped the women until dawn.

While sailing from Rannvaig, Morkvarg heard owls hooting. He saw it as an ill omen and ordered his men to return to shore. One of his men, Pukke, laughed at Morkvarg who was said to fear nothing but seemed afraid of the gods. Morkvarg slew Pukke but realized that he lost the respect of his men. To prove to his men and himself that he did not fear the gods, Morkvarg and his men sailed for Hindarsfjall. There, they stormed Freya's Garden, smashed the monuments and tied up the priestesses. He then began slitting the throats of the priestesses. Only the Arch priestess Ulve stood in his way. He cut her down along with the other priestesses but with her dying breath, she cursed him. Meanwhile, Einar, one of Morkvarg's men, lost courage when he saw Morkvarg defiling the sacred garden and decided that Morkvarg would need to be stopped. With a wolf tooth talisman he got from his father, he secretly cursed Morkvarg who was turned into a werewolf. After the transformation, Morkvarg turned on his men and killed them, with only Einar escaping the slaughter.

The curse forbid Morkvarg from eating or drinking anything, everything he tried to eat turned to ash into his mouth. It prevented him from dying as well, each time he was slain he reanimated in the garden soon after. Thus, Morkvarg was condemned to an eternity of hunger and pain.

Shortly before Geralt's arrival at Hindarsfjall, the Wild Hunt attacked the village Lofoten in search for Ciri. One of the citizens, Skjoll, helped Ciri escaping but was deemed a traitor and coward in the eyes of the villagers. To clear his name, Skjoll decided to slay Morkvarg in battle but was killed by the werewolf himself.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Eventually, the inhabitants of Hindarsfjall contracted Geralt to kill Morkvarg for good. Setting out to kill the beast, Geralt enters Freya's garden, gaining more and more information about Morkvarg's curse. Geralt manages to locate Morkvarg in a cave near the garden and overhears Morkvarg searching for a key. Morkvarg sees Geralt and attacks, only to be defeated by the witcher. Mortally wounded, Morkvarg begged Geralt to lift the curse and revealed that he would return soon.

Geralt has the chance to either lift the curse or kill Morkvarg in his wolf form. To kill the werewolf, Geralt must take werewolf flesh from the corpse of Morkvarg and wait until the werewolf reanimates. Once Morkvarg returns, Geralt must defeat him again and once the werewolf lies on the ground dying, feed him with his own flesh. This effectively kills Morkvarg one and for all.

It is also possible to lift the curse by locating Einar, the former crew member of Morkvarg, in a nearby village. Einar reveals that he was the one who cursed Morkvarg and gives Geralt the wolf tooth pendant. By giving the necklace to Morkvarg, Geralt lifts the curse and Morkvarg is turned human. Overwhelmed with joy, Morkvarg exclaims that he will head straight to the next tavern before he will resume his old ways. Geralt can prevent him from returning to his old ways by killing him or he can let Morkvarg go.