A Poet Under Pressure – Witcher 3 Quest

This guide is a walkthrough of a main quest in the Witcher 3 for the area of Novigrad. The guide is composed of a map, map legend, and walkthrough to show readers exactly where to go and what to do to complete the quest.

Map Legend

1 – Ambush Site
2 – Fork
3 – Hut
4 – Rosemary and Thyme

Walkthrough

After setting up Dandelion’s rescue during the earlier quests in Novigrad, in this quest you’ll finally get to finish the job. To that end, you should meet up with Zoltan on the road between Novigrad and Oxenfurt (#1). After talking to Zoltan for a bit, Priscilla will show up and let you know that Dandelion’s transfer to Oxenfurt will begin in the morning. Priscilla will then ask if she can stay so she’ll be there when Dandelion arrives. No matter how you respond, she’ll end up staying, so you might as well agree to it.

Priscilla will then ask if you’re interested in a game of gwent. You can play her or not, and it won’t make any difference. You won’t win anything if you beat her.

After playing gwent (or not), Dandelion and his escort of soldiers will arrive. Zoltan and his dwarves will attack, but one of the soldiers will flee to the north with Dandelion draped across his saddle. Zoltan will tell you to give chase while he deals with the escort, but you can help if you want, and then loot all of the corpses. There isn’t any way to fail this quest, so you can take your time.

When you start following Dandelion, you’ll need to turn on your witcher senses. This will allow you to detect the soldier’s tracks, which will lead you to a fork in the road to the north (#2). You’ll spot tracks going down both paths, but if you talk to the nearby peasant, then he’ll tell you that the soldier went to the “left” — by which he means the right.

As you follow the road to the right, you’ll see evidence that the soldier’s horse started to limp, and then a short ways beyond that, you’ll find the horse collapsed on the ground (#3), and you’ll figure that Dandelion and the soldier must be near. If you then head to the nearby hut, you’ll hear Dandelion and the soldier inside. However, the hut will be locked, so you won’t be able to charge in.

To get into the hut, you’ll need to talk to the nearby dwarf and halflings. They’ll tell you that the soldier kicked them out of the hut, and they’ll give you the key to their cellar so you can sneak inside. You’ll find the entrance to the cellar a short ways to the east of the hut.

Once inside the hut, you’ll have to fight the soldier, a level 13 witch hunter. You won’t have much room to maneuver, so Aard is probably the best sign to use. Just disrupt the soldier, then hit him, then retreat, and then repeat. With the soldier out of the way, you’ll be able to release Dandelion from his bindings. He’ll then tell you what he knows about Ciri, which will lead to one of her flashback quests.

Ciri’s Story: Breakneck Speed

When you gain control of Ciri, you’ll have to do some fighting and / or fleeing as you make your way to the top of Temple Isle. Dandelion will be on one horse, and you’re expected to mount the other horse and follow him, but depending on your horse riding skills, you might have an easier time just staying on foot and killing all of Whoreson Junior’s men who get in your way.

When you reach the top of the island, you’ll have to dismount your horse (or not) and fight a handful of henchmen at a gate. Past the gate, you’ll get surrounded, and you’ll disappear while Dandelion gets captured.

Back with Geralt, Dandelion will tell you that Ciri was interested in a curse — and he’ll even know the words, though they’ll be in elven, which means you won’t know what they mean — but he won’t know what her interest was in the curse, including if she wanted to cure it or cast it. Dandelion will then head back to the Rosemary and Thyme in Novigrad (#4), and you’ll earn 1000 xp.

Note: As you’re exiting the hut, if you run in the dwarf and the halflings, then they’ll reward you with a Painting of Hierarch Hemmelfart.