Spooked Mare (level 12)

Activate your Witcher Senses to find some hoof prints on the road leading south-
east. Follow them and they'll veer into the wilderness to the east, then termina
te at a pond, albeit temporarily. Cross the pond and continue following the trac
ks to the south-east until you come to a Scoia'tael camp. Tell the Squirrel who
talks to you that you're taking the horse back and he'll threaten violence. Eith
er pick a fight, pay 100 Crowns for the horse, or use the Axii Sign to get the m
are back. Or, of course, you can just let the Scoia'tael keep the horse, but all
this does is willingly fail the quest. Once you have the horse (mount the gray
one) ride the horse back to the enclosure near its owner's house, dismount, and
talk to the peasant to claim your meager reward.
Objective Reward
For using Axii on the Scoia'tael 40 XP
For killing the Scoia'tael XP Varies
For finding the mare XP Varies
For bringing the mare back to its owner XP Varies 20 Crowns
Note: If you enter the horse enclosure, the Scoia'tael will attack you without t
alking, first.
Bandit Camp (level 9)
Continue following the road south-east until you find the "Crossroads" signpost.
Another one, anyways. We're a bit past our goal now, but why not find the signp
ost? From here continue south-east to find a Bandit Camp. Kill the Bandits, then
loot the chests they were guarding. One is on the ground near a wagon, and anot
her is in the back of a wagon.
Person(s) in Distress (level 9)
Backtrack north-west, past the "Crossroads" signpost and take a fork running mor
e east than the road we took to reach the "Crossroads" signpost. Follow it and i
t'll turn north-east shortly, and eventually split into a road running to the so
uth-east, and another to the north-east. Go south-east until you find a "Person(
s) in Distress" event. Kill several Bandits (level nine) and loot the Bandit Lea
der for a "Simple Cage Key," then free the Scoia'tael merchant, who will head ba
ck to his camp, which is along the road a ways to the south. Once done, loot the
chests nearby, then grab the "Bandit's Notes" on a bench.
Objective Reward
For freeing the Scoia'tael Merchant 150 XP
Aeramas' Abandoned Manor
Diagram: Enhanced Feline Armor
Backtrack north to the fork and follow the north-eastern path. When the road for
ks again, continue north-east, and when it forks a third time, head south-east t
o find the "Aeramas' Abandoned Manor" signpost. Continue south-east to reach the
manor grounds, then head over to the ruined manor, itself. This starts the ques
t "Of Dairy and Darkness", which we'll ignore for now. Instead, head up two flig
hts of stairs (one wooden, one stone) to find what once was an enclosed room, st
ill littered with furniture and now missing its roof. And walls. And much of the
floor. Anyways, search by a bookshelf to the north to find chest, which contain
s the Diagram: Enhanced Feline Armor.
Of Dairy and Darkness (level 9) - Continued
If you didn't talk to the Merchant in Novigrad, the quest "Of Dairy and Darkness
" will start, and you'll be directed to talk to the merchant there... hence why
we started this quest earlier. You should already have the "Lizard Figure" and "
Jade Figurine" however, so let's get to it. Use your Witcher Senses to investiga
te a magic circle. Activate it to get a portal to pop up (if you have the aforem
entioned artifacts in your possession) and head inside.
The Trial of the Cheeses
Inside, you'll discover that the mage who used to live here was... a tyromancer.
What's a tyromancer? Well, let's look it up. Hmm... according to Occultopedia,
it is "the art and practice of divining the past, the present, and the future by
interpreting omens found in cheese". He was a cheese mage. The quest name makes
sense now, doesn't it? Below us to the east is a collection of his cheeses, som
e of them so toxic they'll cause Geralt to run out of breath rapidly. The goal i
s simple-clear the maze by sticking to the good cheese (or less bad cheese, as t
he case may be) and avoiding the bad. You can tell the good cheese from the bad
by the (admittedly hard to see) clouds that surround the bad cheese. Simply run
towards cheese, and if your breath meter shows up, run back to the good cheese a
nd pick another direction... or you can just run throught it. There are enough a
reas of reprieve to survive. You start out along the western edge of the level,
and your goal is to climb onto a ledge to the south-east. Once on the ledge head
up some stairs (and a wooden ramp) until you find a doorway to the east.
Objective Reward
For surviving the trial of the cheeses XP Varies
The Flooded Dungeon
Continue through the doorway and interact with a portal to start it up, then hea
d on through to reach another part of the dungeon-this one being flooded. Contin
ue down some stairs, then down a rock ramp to reach the water. From here you can
swim south, then east (never having to dive) to reach a chamber to the east sur
rounded by unscalable, taunting ledges. There's a chest along the southern edge
of this chamber, but otherwise, there's little to recommend it.
Instead swim north from where you first reach the water and dive until you reach
a chamber where you can surface. Do so and swim to the east to find shallow wat
er near a scalable ledge. Climb up some ledges and continue south-east, then eas
t until you find another ledge to climb. Climb it, then continue south-east to f
ind a ledge you can jump across (or you can be a sissy and drop down some ledges
to the north-east, then, while on lower-ground head south to find some more led
ges to climb).
On the other side you'll find a Foglet (level eight) prowling a laboratory. Kill
it and search around. to the south-west you'll find-on a table-a "Bull Figurine
" and "Aeramas' Notes." Continue west to find some rocks you can dispel with the
Eye of Neheleri, beyond which you'll find some containers you can loot. North o
f the rocks you can dispel is another chamber, which you can activate and pass t
hrough.
Objective Reward
For passing through the flooded dungeon XP Varies
The Emmentaler
To the south-west you'll spot a large, angry, red magic barrier that stands betw
een you and lootage. Head south to find some more rocks that can be dispelled wi
th the Eye of Neheleri, then blast the pyramid-on-the-pedestal. Another one lies
along the wall to the north, but this one is unburdened by illusions. Once both
have tasted some Igni, the barrier will fall. Head up some stairs and grab a "S
nake Figurine" from a chest, and take the sword from near the statue... which Ge
ralt dubs "The Emmentaler."
...Yes. The Emmentaler is named after cheese. From Wikipedia: "Emmentaler or Emm
ental is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmenta
l, in Switzerland. It is one of the cheeses of Switzerland, and is sometimes kno
wn as Swiss cheese." Oh Geralt... why?
Anyways, head up some stairs near the statue to the south-west to find another p
ortal, which will take you out of this cheesy dungeon.
Objective Reward
For claiming the Swiss cheese sword, Emmentaler XP Varies
Guarded Treasure (level 20)
There's one more thing we can do east of Oxenfurt right now, and we might as wel
l get it out of the way, right? Head south-west from the "Aeramas' Abandoned Man
or" signpost and into the woods, dispatching whatever stupid Wolves (level five)
and Wargs (level eight) pester you along the way. Eventually you'll come across
a "Guarded Treasure" event, where a Leshen (level twenty) stands in front of a
chest on some high ground. Kill the Leshen-and perhaps the Wolves (level twenty-
two) that it summons and loot the chest. Inside is the Steel Sword Lune. If you
can handle this, you'll be find to tackle whatever quests await in Benek. Speaki
ng of which...
Boots Around Benek
Backtrack to the "Aeramas' Abandoned Manor" signpost and fast-travel to Benek. T
here are two quests we can do-one which will lead us to the last bit of Enhanced
Feline gear, and another which... well, it's fast enough to just get out of the
way. Talk to the Old Sage and give him some food and he'll spin a prophecy for
you, starting the quest "The Truth is in the Stars."
The Truth is in the Stars
Head south-east along a road leading from the village until you find a cave. Ent
er the cave and travel south-west, picking whatever mushrooms you please along t
he way. Shortly you'll come to a chamber, at which point you'll need to turn nor
th to find a search area. Kill four Ghouls (level two) and search some bodies ly
ing around, if you wish. The Dragonsroot we're after is lying near the wall, alo
ng the south-eastern edge of the search area. Pick the plant and take it back to
the Old Sage, and he'll give a rather convincing prophecy.
Objective Reward
For hearing a prophecy XP Varies
Contract: Phantom of the Trade Route (level 23)
Now find a Refugee along the northern end of Benek, who will ask you to investig
ate the disappearance of some of the townsfolk who were guarding a merchant cara
van. Haggle for coin (or not) then agree to help out to start the quest "Contrac
t: Phantom of the Trade Route." The level is high, but if you've got the Enhance
d Feline Silver Sword and beat the Leshen earlier, you'll be fine.
Travel north-west along the road from Benek, and when the road forks continue no
rth to find a search area, along the northern end of which is the caravan. Activ
ate your Witcher Senses and investigate some cut rope, foot prints, a claw mark,
and a barrel to pick up a scent trail leading uphill to the north-east. Follow
the scent trail along more conventional trail to find a cave, outside of which i
s a body for your to investigate.
Head past a large stalagmite that bisects the cave entrance and into the cave. C
ontinue east until you find some ledges, then head north-east to find some refug
ees cowering inside the cave. Ask them about what happened, and about Thomil to
identify the beast and learn Thomil's fate. Our beasts lie to the south-east, bu
t first, head south-west and keep your eye to the south to find a chest containi
ng the Diagram: Enhanced Feline Boots.
Objective Reward
For finding the survivors 30 XP
For learning about the beast 25 XP
Backtrack to the south-east and head up a ramp along the eastern side of the cav
e. Continue south, scale a ledge, then leap across a chasm, turn south-east, the
n scale some more ledges and head outside to find the Wyvern nest. Here you'll f
ind two Wyverns (level twenty-one)-use Draconid Oil on your Silver Sword and per
haps a Potion of Thunderbolt to see you through this fight then blow up the two
nests. Geralt will wait, and eventually the Royal Wyvern will show up. Aside fro
m being larger than the other two, it doesn't fight very different. Kill it and-
after the peasants bother you-loot it for the Silver Sword Anathema, and a Royal
Wyvern Trophy, among other things. Be sure to loot the lesser Wyverns and the n
ests before you go. When you're done, return to the Refugee in Benek and collect
your reward.
Objective Rewards
For destroying the Monster Nest 20 XP Each
For slaying the Royal Wyvern 250 XP 192 Crowns
Toderas
Now let's clear up a few more map markers. If you head north-west from Benek (pa
st the caravan ambush site) you'll find the abandoned town of Toderas (and its s
ignpost). Here you'll find two groups of Bandits (levels four and five) who have
decided to loot the town. When you approach they'll tell you to go away. You ca
n call them monsters and attack, or you can let them go-but Geralt will sow stri
fe amongst them in doing so, and the two groups will end up fighting. Either way
, loot the town, then head north-west into a swamp, where you'll find a house si
nking into a swamp. Kill a pair of Foglets (level four) haunting the area, then
loot around the house. On parcel in particular-the one north of the small struct
ure-contains valuable loot.
Hidden Treasure: Hidden From the World (level 9)
Head east from the sinking structures to find a road, then follow this road nort
h. When you reach a fork continue north and eventually this road will bisect ano
ther running east-west. Contine north into the wilderness to find a "Hidden Trea
sure" event. Kill the Bandits (level nine) at the camp and loot one for a "Lette
r." Read it to start the quest "Hidden From the World." From the camp head south
and slightly west, cross the road, and scale a hill. You'll find the chest you'
re looking for hidden in some bushes, past the rocks surrounding the top of the
hill.
Well, we're ready to move onto Skellige, gear-wise, and probably well past ready
, level-wise. There are a few more issues we should resolve before we leave Novi
grad, however... Ignore them if you wish, but how (or whether) we complete these
quests have significant impact on the story in the long run.
A Favor for Triss
Novigrad is a dangerous place for mages these days, especially if they were part
of Lodge of Sorceresses. Triss might just need our help, and we need her servic
es for a few things, so let's go pay our dear friend Triss a visit? Fast-travel
to Hierarch Square and, while you're here head north-west of the signpost to fin
d a table littered with papers from which you can take "An Invitation to the Mem
orial Derby." Read it to start the quest "Race: The Great Erasmus Vegelbud Memor
ial Derby." Just another one to add to the pile...
Triss is living north-east of Hierarch Square, so leave via the eastern road alo
ng the southern end of the square. Along the way you'll spot a Preacher saying m
ean things about Witchers. Talk to him and Geralt will challenge him to say that
 to his face, which, to his credit, the Preacher does. Pick the top option to po
litely point out the good Witchers do, and the Preacher will lose his congregati
on, will plenty of egg on his face (figuratively). Threatening him or refusing t
o continuing with him achieves the same results, but somehow feels somewhat less
satisfying.
Objective Reward
For putting the Preacher in his place 10 XP
If you think this is the end of this matter, then you've got a lot to learn. Som
etime later on while wandering Novigrad you'll be pestered by two Guards (level
ten), who ask for your weapons. If you surrender them you'll be informed that th
e priest you insulted ordered this hit on you. If you kept your weapons, this wi
ll be a normal armed melee. If not, you'll need to make do without weapons-you c
an, however, use Signs, Bombs, and your crossbow).
Objective Reward
For fighting off the Priest's goons 25 XP
From the Preacher head north-east under an arch and follow a road to the north,
taking the second road east to find Triss's house. Knock on the door and the lan
dlords will-after some complaining-let you in. Head upstairs and talk to Triss.
Poor Triss and her lop-sided house... Anyways, ask her what's on her mind and sh
e'll tell you she got an vague letter promising cash and the possible salvation
of some mages, two strong motivators for Triss. Smart girl that she is, though,
she's suspicious, especially after the last few close encounters. Offer to help
her like the great guy you are and she'll discuss some of the silly details with
you.
Tales Statuettes Tell
Talk to her again and tell her about the two Jade Figurines you've found and she
'll reveal their true natures. Pick which one you want to deal with first, then
you'll automatically follow Triss to a site where she can safely work her magic.
Each of the two statuettes will take their true forms and tell you a story abou
t how they came to find themselves transformed. You'll get a reward and these qu
ests will end.
Objective Reward
For freeing the Nobleman XP Varies 30 Crowns
Lesser Glyph of Axii
For freeing the Soldier XP Varies
If you completed "Redania's Most Wanted" and kept the gem from Phillipa's megasc
ope, you can also have Triss take a look at it. You'll witness some sorceress po
litics involving Phillipa and another mage named Margarita, after which you can
give the crystal to Triss, or you can double-down on your desire to give it to R
adovid, despite the possible consequences.
A Matter of Life and Death (level 12)
Head to the fishmarket, which is south-west of Hierarch Square, just north of on
e of the bridges connecting the docks district to the central district. Once you
reach the search area activate your Witcher Senses to find a man just south of
the center of the search area-there are plenty of people wearing blue, but the k
eys will highlight red under your Witcher Senses. After a brief chat you'll have
to follow the man. Kill some Bandits (level nine) along the way, then reach you
r destination, where Triss will join you. The servant will tell you about Vegelb
ud's problem, and the solution proposed is... well, extravagent.