Hubert Rejk

Hubert Rejk was a Katakan who lived in Novigrad as a coroner in .
==Biography==
Little is known about Hubert Rejk's origins. For some time prior to , he taught medicine at the University of Oxenfurt. Among his students was Joachim von Gratz who later became the chief surgeon at Vilmerius Hospital in Novigrad.
In 1242, Rejk, dissatisfied with the student revolt at the University which had apparently resulted in the deaths of people who did not share the protesters' values, reported on von Gratz, the leader of the revolt, which landed von Gratz in prison. The people who had been killed in the revolt had allegedly been found in the gutter, with their throats slit from ear to ear with surgical precision. Following these events, Rejk left the University and moved to Novigrad where he found work in the city morgue as a coroner. It was in Novigrad, around the early 1270s that Rejk used his vampiric abilities to murder people which he deemed immoral, those which, in his mind, had strayed from the path of the Eternal Fire. He also began to write and distribute pamphlets across the city under the alias "Concerned Citizen" which warned the city's residents against committing heresy.
The first victims murdered by Rejk were mainly prostitutes with no friends or families, whose real names are unknown. The first known named victim was Fabian Meyer who was a woodworker producing wooden figures with his brother. Rejk, having arrived at the Meyer's workshop, force-fed the victim with formaldehyde, and performed various mutilations on the victim's body while he was still alive. Furthermore, Rejk carried out some procedures, such as a tracheotomy, to extend Meyer's suffering and ensuring that the victim did not die quickly. He also performed various acts on Meyer that signified fire, such as gouging out Meyer's eyes and replacing them with burning coals, and placing salamander eggs inside his chest after removing the heart. Rejk finally left a letter made of human skin on the victim's body, which stated the name of his next target, the trobairitz Priscilla.
Rejk assaulted Priscilla, again with formaldehyde, causing her face and throat to swell up. However, this time he could not finish what he started and was forced to flee, using his superhuman abilities to leap over a large wall and quickly escape. Priscilla was a high-profile target, and this assault attracted the attention of Geralt of Rivia who agreed to help Dandelion, Priscilla's lover, to find and kill the perpetrator.
Some time later, Rejk caught Geralt and Joachim von Gratz performing an unauthorized autopsy of Fabian Meyer in the morgue. Shortly after, they were interrupted by Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi, the overseer of the morgue, and Rejk's superior. Rejk covered for Geralt and von Gratz who were forced to leave.
Rejk's next victim was Joris Aquinus, a lecturer in theology at Oxenfurt Academy. The details of this murder are unknown, though one distinct aspect of this murder which it had in common with the previous ones was that Aquinus was critical of the Eternal Fire and had many tomes criticizing it. The victim was found in a catafalque made of these books. Rejk, under the pretense of wanting to help Geralt with the investigation into the murders, called the witcher into the morgue for an autopsy of Aquinus, and found a letter of human skin which he himself had planted on the body. This letter named Patricia Vegelbud as the next victim. As Geralt traveled to the Vegelbud Estate in the hopes of preventing another murder, Rejk used his abilities to get there first, murder Patricia Vegelbud and tie her body to the bed, before escaping just as Geralt and Ingrid Vegelbud entered the room. Another letter written on human skin was planted on Vegelbud's body, naming Sweet Nettie at Crippled Kate's brothel as the next victim.
However, this was a false trail intended to throw Geralt off track, as Rejk himself actually went to an abandoned warehouse near the Novigrad Docks, while Sweet Nettie was being tortured by Nathaniel Pastodi at the brothel, this being the Reverend's pastime.
 Geralt assumed that Pastodi was the murderer and did not pursue the matter further. Rejk went on to kill another victim in Novigrad, before moving to a smaller settlement.
 Geralt learned from Pastodi that Rejk was the actual murderer, and went to the warehouse on the docks. It was there that Rejk revealed himself to be a higher vampire, before transforming into a katakan. Rejk was then killed by the witcher.
== Journal entry ==
: The wave of religious and racially-motivated killings that swept through Novigrad in the spring of 1272 coincided with Hubert Rejk's term as coroner at the city morgue.
: Because of this he was overworked and additionally had to bear the harassment of his dislikeable superior, Reverend Nathaniel. It is thus no surprise that he came across as unpleasant and sarcastic when Geralt and he first met.
: Furthermore, it was clear there was bad blood between him and Joachim von Gratz, a fact that did little to improve the already rather stiff atmosphere at the morgue. Nevertheless, having learned the reason for Geralt's unexpected visit, Hubert made it clear Geralt and Joachim could count on his help.
: Hubert proposed to help the witcher perform an autopsy on the serial killer's latest victim, which revealed valuable new clues.
: Rejk might have succeeded in shifting the blame to another suspect if not for the witcher's perspicacity. Geralt had already figured out Rejk was the true murderer, but was shocked to learn he was also a powerful vampire.
: Luckily Geralt had considerable experience and a honed skill set to draw on for fighting such a creature. He killed the beast and ended his twisted moral crusade.
== Associated quest ==
* Carnal Sins
== Notes ==
* If the player kills Nathaniel instead of listening to him, Hubert will never be revealed as the true murderer and Geralt will later find a final body and a mocking note detailing how the true killer is going to move on to a smaller village and continue his work.
* He last fought a witcher two centuries before meeting Geralt.
== Videos ==
File:Hubert Boss Fight "Pretty Good Might Not Cut it" The Witcher 3 PS4
== Gallery ==
Gwent cardart northern hubert rejk.jpg|Gwent card art
== References ==
== External links ==
*
ar:هوبرت ريك
pl:Hubert Rejk
ru:Губерт Рейк
Category:Vampires
Category:The Witcher 3 characters