Ewald Borsodi

Ewald Borsodi was a son of Maximilian Borsodi, brother of Horst Borsodi, and originally an heir of Borsodi Brothers' Auction House until his brother had him disinherited and removed from the family because of his gambling and profligacy.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Ewald Borsodi was born into the wealthy Borsodi family and grew up with his brother Horst. However, their personalities conflicted greatly: Ewald was the more down-to-earth of the two brothers but was superficial, spending vast amounts of money on gambling, whoring and various other pleasures, while Horst was self-centred and disdainful. Despite being the younger brother, Ewald was the heir of the family, owing to him being the preferred son of their father, Maximilian Borsodi. Ewald was allegedly quite well-known amongst the local nobility.In dialogue, Olgierd von Everec states that Ewald was "famous in certain circles" if the player asks about Ewald.
Nevertheless, the auction house was supposed to be owned by both of them, no matter their relationship, and their father even went so far as to have it written in his will that the two brothers had to meet once a year or else the whole family would have to forfeit the auction house. Yet, Horst was unsatisfied with this and wanted to keep Ewald as far from the family fortune as possible; he usurped Ewald, throwing him out onto the street while proclaiming himself head of the family and hiding their father's will from the public so that no one would ever find out about the clause.
=== Living as a criminal ===
After this turn of events, Ewald lived in the city's sewers and barely survived. Eventually, he managed to get on his feet and became a name in the local underground, taking on a job of hired assassin. He was notoriously ruthless, with Olgierd stating that he killed "extravagantly" and admitting that he would've asked Ewald to join the Redanian Free Company if it wasn't for his Borsodi heritage.
When Ewald gathered up enough resources and checked the recently relocated auction house's defense, he began to plot his revenge in the Herbalist's Hut near Oxenfurt.
=== Plan and heist ===
After 15 years of living on the streets, Ewald had nearly everything planned out to break into the auction house except a company to help. Luckily for him, he encountered the witcher Geralt of Rivia one day after the latter was thrown out of the auction house. However, ever secretive, Ewald didn't so much as reveal who he was or even his interest in the vault, only that he wished to break in and would require the witcher's help to do so.
After some discussion, Geralt reluctantly came to the conclusion he had no choice but to agree to work with Ewald, who then tasked the witcher to recruit two more people: a safecracker and someone who could quickly scale tall buildings. After the necessary people were brought in, they headed to the auction house, but almost immediately, they discovered that Ewald's informant was wrong and that there were guards inside. As things were getting too hot, Eveline Gallo bade farewell to the group and escaped out of a chimney.
The remaining company successfully broke into the vault where it was revealed that Ewald was none other than Horst Borsodi's long-missing brother.
 Unmoved by Horst's offer, Geralt stayed with Ewald and the two eventually defeated Horst and his bodyguards. After Horst was knocked down by Geralt, Ewald offered to spare him in exchange for Horst giving him all of the family property. When Horst began to ask for one thing, Ewald flew into a rage and savagely beat Horst with a golden candle holder, before being stopped by Geralt. As soon as the witcher's back was turned, Ewald struck Horst with the ornament once more, killing him.
: Ewald flatly stated that he could not let Geralt have Maximilian Borsodi's house, but that he could have anything else from the vault. Geralt then decided to make a deal with him, where he'd take the casket and Ewald could keep his father's will. They then parted ways, after which Ewald assumed the family fortune.
: Frustrated at being cheated by Ewald, Geralt decided that he'd have to take the desired treasure by force; Ewald was thusly slain by Geralt in combat.
 Geralt took Horst's side and stood against Ewald, who was ultimately incapacitated by Geralt in combat. Horst offered to spare Ewald in return for him acknowledging Horst as head of the family and bowing before him, resulting in Ewald trying to attack him with a dagger. His attempt failed, as Horst disarmed Ewald and beat him until Geralt stopped him. As soon as Geralt's eyes were focused elsewhere, Horst picked up Ewald's dagger and plunged it into his chest, ending his life.
== Journal entry ==
:When he found himself witnessing a battle of brothers, Geralt chose to stand by...
:Geralt stands by Ewald:
::...his partner, Ewald anddepending on the ending, sometimes this is written as "Ewald – and" with their combined strength they defeated Horst and his bodyguards. Ewald then repaid Geralt in the worst possible way: he tried to cheat him by keeping Maximilian's House for himself.
::...but does not take the papers:
:::Luckily the witcher kept a clear head and, instead of slaughtering Ewald at once, proposed a compromise both sides would find acceptable. Their paths parted soon afterwards, as Ewald left to manage his family fortune and Geralt returned to the Path of a witcher.
::...but also demands the papers:
:::This treachery pushed even the usually level-headed witcher over the edge – his steel sword flew into motion at once and soon Ewald's corpse lay next to that of his hated brother. The tale of the Brothers Borsodi had come to a tragic close.
:Geralt stands with Horst:
::... Horst. Though the elder Borsodi was undeniably arrogant and mean-spirited, he, at least, had not tried to cheat the witcher or use him in a private vendetta as had Ewald. The witcher thus foiled Ewald's years of planning moments before they were to come to fruition, then put an end to Ewald's life as well.
== Associated quest ==
* Open Sesame!
== Notes ==
* When it comes to the safecrackers, Casimir Bassi always takes Ewald's side, while Quinto will only ever side with Horst.
==Gallery==
Gwent cardart syndicate ewald borsodi.jpg|Gwent card art
== References ==
ar:إوالد بورسودي
cs:Ewald Borsodi
pl:Ewald Borsody
ru:Эвальд Борсоди
Category:Humans
Category:Hearts of Stone characters