In the final main quest of The Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone expansion, Geralt must meet with Olgierd von Everec and Gaunter O’Dimm to fulfill their contract. If the player seeks to challenge O’Dimm, they must first complete a set of optional tasks that will reveal more of O’Dimm’s true nature. This will then lead them to Professor Premethine Shakeslock of Oxenfurt Academy.
Professor Shakeslock is a curious character trapped in ill-fated circumstances. A fervent scholar of black magic, he had the knowledge that Geralt needed to potentially outsmart O’Dimm. However, by the end of the quest in The Witcher 3, the professor, unfortunately, falls to his death.
Meeting Professor Shakeslock in The Witcher 3
In The Witcher 3 Hearts of Stone quest “Whatsoever a Man Soweth,” the player is given the option of meeting with Shani before the showdown with Olgierd and O’Dimm. This then opens the optional quest objectives which direct the player to Professor Shakeslock.
With Shani’s help in The Witcher 3, Geralt finds a way into Oxenfurt Academy and eventually into the professor’s home. However, his front door is barred, so the player must climb to the building’s top-floor balcony and break open the door, weakening the house’s internal structure in the process. Proceeding to the bottom floor, Geralt comes face-to-face with Shakeslock, a blind man standing in the center of a rune circle. At first, the professor treats Geralt with hostility, believing him to have been sent by “that demon,” Gaunter O’Dimm, but Geralt quickly assuages his fears by explaining that he’s a Witcher. Shakeslock then becomes more cooperative.
Defining Evil Incarnate
As it turns out, Olgierd had paid a personal visit to the professor some time ago. He offered Shakeslock a wealthy sum in exchange for knowledge about Gaunter O’Dimm and how to get rid of him. Shakeslock agreed. He spent years reading obscure tomes and esoteric texts to find a hint as to who — or what — O’Dimm truly was.
The professor struck gold in the libraries of Nilfgaard, where he found a wealth of accounts detailing encounters with a strange entity. This entity had many names, but it was always Evil Incarnate in The Witcher world. And in the Northern Realms, people called him Master Mirror or the Man of Glass — none other than Gaunter O’Dimm. Though Shakeslock went blind deciphering the ancient texts, he learned a great deal about what O’Dimm was.
When the professor returned to Oxenfurt, O’Dimm paid him a visit in The Witcher 3. Though Shakeslock was already blind, he could see his strange visitor clearly. O’Dimm said that he was honored that the professor was so devoted to studying him and that he wished to return the favor. Thus, O’Dimm drew the rune circle — the same one Geralt finds the professor in — and promised that Shakeslock would be safe inside it. He hasn’t set foot outside of it since.
Now, Shakeslock is under the “protective custody” of the witch hunters of The Witcher’s Church of the Eternal Fire. They knew of his expertise in occult matters and, thus, took advantage of his “handicap” for their own ends. They made sure Shakeslock was taken care of, but he had to supply them with information on magic and magic users in return. It also meant that none could visit him in his home without their permission — that is, until Geralt comes along. In speaking to the professor, Geralt learns of one way that O’Dimm can be defeated. He cannot be killed, for one cannot kill Evil. However, he can be beaten at his own game of wits. Geralt simply needs to challenge, though the caveat is that if Geralt loses, his soul goes to O’Dimm.
Professor Shakeslock’s Demise
Throughout the conversation, Geralt notices that the house’s overall structure begins to rumble and shake. It finally gives way when Shakeslock reveals how the Witcher can defeat O’Dimm. This pushes the professor out of his circle, causing him to slip on a bottle and fall, breaking his neck on a nearby crate. O’Dimm’s promise about leaving the circle held true. Though it’s likely O’Dimm had a hand in causing the house to break down, especially considering how Shakeslock’s information could potentially lead to him losing Olgierd’s soul.
This jarringly swift end to the professor’s life rings bittersweet, as before the house collapses, Shakeslock remarks how good it feels to feel useful again. He’d lived in fear and isolation for so long that he felt happy just from helping an old Witcher. It’s an undignified end to years of living miserably, because ever since the professor was trapped in the circle, O’Dimm has been tormenting him.
In the in-game text labeled “Professor Shakeslock’s journal,” the player can learn just how far O’Dimm went to make the old professor suffer. For his first month in the circle, Shakeslock suffered from terrible nightmares in The Witcher, preventing him from getting a good night’s rest. It came to a point where he feared sleep for he knew what was waiting for him. Suddenly, the nightmares stopped, and he began dreaming that he had a daughter. Though Shakeslock never had children in real life, this young girl — Amelie — awakened a paternal love in him. The professor stopped fearing sleep. On the contrary, he eagerly awaited it because it meant he would see his daughter again. He loved little Amelie very much and felt it was a shame that she was only a figment of his dreams.
Then, she died. Weeks after Shakeslock met Amelie, she caught a strange illness that mutated her body in The Witcher 3, causing hideous sores to erupt all across her body. She cried for help, but the professor could do nothing to save her. Amelie died in his arms, and Shakeslock immediately knew that it was O’Dimm’s doing. Since his daughter’s death, the professor felt nothing but a sense of deep, dark sadness.
Perhaps, then, his death was a blessing — an admittedly abrupt end to O’Dimm’s torture. Though the only reason why he died then and there was likely because O’Dimm thought he was too dangerous to keep alive. After all, Shakeslock knew how to outsmart The Witcher’s Gaunter O’Dimm. This then brings up a chilling thought: had Geralt decided against paying the professor a visit, then O’Dimm probably would have continued to torment him.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.