The Witcher 3: Walkthrough (Act I). Novigrad. Side missions closely tied to the main story. Part 2
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Geralt has many friends and acquaintances in Novigrad, and he could not afford to leave for Skellige while ignoring their pleas for help. Earlier, our hero had already dealt with the problems of Vernon Roche, Dandelion, Zoltan Chivay, and the local godfathers. Now it's time for Triss and Lambert, as well as various other personalities trying to draw the witcher into politics.

MAP OF NOVIGRAD AND SURROUNDINGS

Attention! The map is clickable

1\. Est Tyar

2. Triss's House

3. Ard Skellige: the port inn near Kaer Trolde

4. Oxenfurt: the port, Redanian soldier

5. Witch hunters

6. Lussi

7. Lussi's House

8. Vallter

9. Fritz's House

10. Bandit

11. Injured witch hunter

12. Remi Villeroi's House

13. Brothel “Passiflora”

14. Velen: Border Post, Gregor

15. Velen: abandoned shoemaker's wagon

16. Velen: rock troll

17. Velen: troll cave

18. Inn “Seven Cats”

19. Caesar Bilzen's House

20. Abandoned House in Cuts

21. Shop where they sell the wizard Aeramas's items

22. Fish market

23. Bandit attack site

24. Elihal's Atelier

25. Mademoiselle Irène's apartment

26. Wegelbud Estate: card tournament

27. Wegelbud Estate: Louise La Valette

28. Wegelbud Estate: Sigismund Dijkstra

29. Wegelbud Estate: Ingrid Wegelbud

30. Wegelbud Estate: Albert

31. Wegelbud Estate: bench

32. Wegelbud Estate: fountain in the maze

33. Wegelbud Estate: stables

34. Tavern “Kingfisher”

35. Bertold and Anissa's House

36. Dock

37. Lighthouse

38. Warden’s residence in Cuts

39. Shed by the dock

40. Water mill

41. Faroe Isles: village of Trottheim

42. Faroe Isles: western landing point

43. Faroe Isles: shrine, Hammond

44. Tavern “Nowhere”

45. Gate of Bertram Tauler's mansion

46. Gates of Glory

47. Arch in the Red Light District

ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE (RADOVID'S QUEST)

Recommended level: 12

The quest will be available after completing the main quest “Service for Radovid”, in which Geralt is tasked with finding Philippa Eilhart and delivering her to the King of Redania. It is advisable to start this quest before you begin the quest “A Question of Life and Death” (see below), as you may need Triss to complete it.

Attention! This quest must be completed before Geralt goes to The Isle of Mists, otherwise it will move into the failed category.

1. According to information obtained from Radovid, Philippa is hiding in the underground catacombs of Est Tyar (1). Upon arrival, Geralt will discover a fairly large group of witch hunters. From their conversation, it becomes clear that they have found a certain stone filled with magical power that opens the entrance to the dungeon – the key to the sorceress's hideout (automatically added to the Quest Items section of the Inventory). After obtaining the key, he can immediately head to the underground ruins or chat a bit more with the hunters. If you ask, “Is there anything else I should know?”, one of the fighters will tell you about the fate that befell those who tried to reach the sorceress's lair on their own, without waiting for the witcher.

2. Now it's time to descend and start exploring the catacombs. Jump into the hole in the ground, turn left, and proceed until you reach the glowing lilac arch.

To the right of it, with the witcher’s senses activated, he will find a place to insert the key stone.

Insert it, watch the glow fade, revealing an entrance to the underground corridor that will lead to the portal. Enter it.

3. In a small room that Geralt enters after going through the portal, he will notice a screech owl feather lying on the floor, evidence that Philippa was here. Look for it with your witcher senses ahead and to the left of the portal (examining the feather is optional and does not affect the quest's progress).

After inspecting the find, move on. A short corridor will lead Geralt into a large cave where he will be ambushed by nekers (level 9). Go down the staircase that begins to the left of the entrance, dealing with monsters as you go.

After a couple of stairwells, the witcher will find another portal, but unlike the first one, it is non-functional. To activate it, use the Aard sign on the magic crystal located on a special stand opposite the portal. Once the crystal is activated, it will open the portal. Enter it.

5. The portal will bring the witcher into a cave where he will face one of the witch hunters. When offered to lead him out, the fighter will firmly refuse. He intends to find out all he can about Philippa, thereby earning Radovid's favor. Additionally, he has broken the crystal that activates the next teleport. You can take the crystal from the hunter either through the Axii sign: “Be a good boy, give me the crystal” (you need the Deception ability at level 2), or through force: “Give me the crystal or else”. If the latter option is chosen, Geralt will have to fistfight with the hunter (level 10).

After obtaining the crystal, you can either move forward (there's only one way out) or look around the room (optional): in one of the chests you can find an interesting letter addressed to Philippa (it will be added to the Books section of your Inventory), and on the floor – another owl feather.

A short corridor will lead the witcher to another portal. To activate it, insert the crystal obtained from the hunter into the stand to the left of the entrance to the portal area, and then apply the Aard sign to it. The crystal will activate, the teleport will work, and you can enter it.

6. The portal will transfer Geralt to a cave with three nekers (level 9), so be prepared for a fight as soon as you exit it. After dealing with the monsters, take a look around. On the floor, you will find yet another feather. Through the opening of the arch, a glowing portal can be seen in the distance, but before heading that way, you will need to find another magic crystal. To find it, you will have to descend into a hole in the floor. Below, the witcher will encounter three or four more nekers. There, he will also find the missing crystal.

Pick up the crystal, return to the upper cave, and head through the corridor towards the next portal. To activate it, insert the crystal obtained from the nekers into the stand to the left of the entrance to the portal area, and then apply the Aard sign to it. The crystal will activate, the teleport will work, and you can enter it.

7. The portal will send Geralt to a lower level of the dungeon. Upon exiting, he will see a hall with several charred corpses. It’s time to prepare for battle, as ahead awaits a confrontation with the guard of Philippa – a fire elemental. Oil your sword with oil against magical creatures, get ready to extinguish the flaming brute using Aard, and move forward to meet your fate.

8. After the elemental perishes, our hero will have unimpeded access to Philippa's hideout. Before entering, he will find yet another screech owl feather.

Inside the hideout, there is considerable mess. It’s time to activate the witcher senses and explore the room. The quest item, polished crystal, will be found in the right part of the hall, next to a column overgrown with ivy. As soon as Geralt picks it up, the mission will update.

In addition to the crystal, you can also find a melted megascope, completely burnt notes, a bottle with remnants of a strong disinfectant, bloodied surgical instruments, and bloodied garnets from Philippa’s necklace (on a chest to the left of the entrance). Discovering and inspecting the first three is optional, while the last ones can be kept as quest items.

After retrieving the crystal and garnets from the hideout, we return upstairs the same way we came down – through the system of portals.

9. At the exit from the dungeon, the witch hunters will be waiting for us. They will be somewhat surprised that the witcher has returned from the catacombs alive and will start asking him about possible findings.

If Geralt decides to hide the fact that he found the crystal (line: “Nothing”) or rude to one of them (line: “None of your business”), he will have to fight five fighters of level 10.

If the witcher honestly tells about the crystal (line: “Yes, the megascope crystal”), the hunters will demand that he hand over the magical artifact. Geralt has a choice: agree (line: “Okay”) or refuse (line: “Out of the question”). In the latter case, a fight with the hunters is unavoidable.

If Geralt gives the crystal to the hunters, there will be nothing left for him but to return to Radovid empty-handed (see p. 11).

If Geralt decides to keep the crystal for himself and takes out the hunters, he will have several options for further actions:

1. take the crystal to Triss (see p. 10.1);

2. take the crystal to Yennefer (see p. 10.2);

3. take the crystal to Radovid (see p. 11).

Attention. If at the time of the crystal’s discovery both sorceresses are temporarily unavailable, the game will immediately suggest going to Radovid. The options to show the crystal to Yennefer or Triss will not appear in the Journal. However, the option with the sorceresses will be mentioned in the quest description. It will not be possible to discuss the crystal with Triss after she departs for Kovir at all, but the opportunity to hand over the find to Yennefer will remain. Once you do that, in Skellige or Kaer Morhen, the corresponding tasks will magically return to the Journal.

10.1. (Optional) If you have not yet started the quest “A Question of Life and Death” (see below) at the time of the current quest and if you decide to show Triss the crystal from Philippa’s megascope, then head to her apartment in Cuts (2) and during the conversation choose the line: “Radovid is actively searching for Philippa.”

After hearing her friend’s outraged monologue, show her the crystal (you can choose any response option). Triss will manage to restore some of the information contained within it and will demonstrate to Geralt the “video recording” of Philippa’s last conversation with Margaret Lo-Antille.

It seems Philippa intended not only to regain her lost sight by growing living tissues on precious stones (so that’s where the bloodied garnets in her hideout came from!), but also to revive the Lodge of Sorceresses.

After the end of the video recording, you will have to either immediately declare that Radovid will be delighted with the crystal or discuss with Triss the essence of what has been seen:

“What were they talking about?” → “Do you want to join the Lodge?”

However, in any case, at the end of the conversation, Geralt will have to make a decision: leave the crystal with Triss (she will insist on this) or take it with him. Even if Geralt initially does not plan to leave his find with Merigold, he will have the opportunity to change his mind and return the crystal to the red-haired sorceress (line: “I will give you Philippa's crystal”) before he visits the King of Redania, provided, of course, that she is still in Novigrad. See p. 11 further.

10.2. (Optional) The opportunity to show Philippa's crystal to Yennefer will arise only after the start of the main quest “The Ugly One” (Act II), but before Geralt goes to The Isle of Mists. You can do this either right after completing the side quest in Skellige “The Last Wish” in the sorceress’s apartment (3) in the port inn near Kaer Trolde in Ard Skellige, or already in Kaer Morhen after finishing the first quest dialogue with her within the main quest “Disruptions”. Learning that Radovid is actively searching for Philippa and Geralt has agreed to help him, Yennefer will be extremely surprised and will ask why he is so eager. No matter how Geralt responds, he will still hand over the crystal, and she, having managed to restore part of the information inside it, will show our hero the “video recording” of Philippa's last conversation with Margaret Lo-Antille.

It seems Philippa intended not only to regain her lost sight by growing living tissues on precious stones (so that’s where the bloodied garnets in her hideout came from!), but also to revive the Lodge of Sorceresses.

After the video recording ends, you will be able to discuss with Yennefer the crystal's further fate and the essence of what has been seen. If you want to discuss all available lines in this dialogue, start with talking about Philippa and Margaret's conversation.

“What were they discussing?” – it is known that: restoring Philippa’s sight and reviving the Lodge. You can further expand on each point: “Do you think she will be able to regain her sight?” and “Why would they talk about the Lodge?” but this is completely optional.

“I think about what to do with the crystal” – in any case, Geralt will have to make a decision: leave the crystal with Yennefer (she will insist on this) or take it with him. Even if Geralt initially does not wish to leave it with the sorceress from Vengerberg, before visiting the King of Redania, he has the option to change his mind and return the crystal to the dark-haired sorceress (line: “I will give you Philippa's crystal”) provided, of course, that by that time he has not yet gone to the Isle of Mists. See p. 11 further. But if he gives the crystal to Yennefer, getting it back will already be impossible.

Note from rexsniper_Lpqy: if you show the crystal to Triss first and then to Yennefer, then in version 1.32 both corresponding points in the list of intermediate tasks of the quest will be marked as completed. In earlier versions of the game, according to tzh28, “only one option is marked with a green check (whoever looked at the crystal last is counted, and whoever first - is dropped, although once it was green).”

11. Regardless of whether Geralt has the crystal with him or not, he must report on his work to the august client. Radovid is on board his ship in the port of Oxenfurt. Talk to the Redanian soldier (4) at the dock, and he will lead you to the monarch.

Seeing the witcher, the king will ask whether he has found Philippa. If Geralt has the crystal in hand, he can either immediately tell Radovid about it (line: “No, but I found the crystal”), or, without getting into details, strictly answer the posed question (lines: “No, I think she’s dead” or “I know she’s trying to regain her sight”). In the latter case, he will have another opportunity to talk about the crystal. Whether to use it (line: “Here’s this crystal”) or not (line: “Unfortunately, no”) is up to you.

If Geralt does tell about the crystal and hands it over to Radovid, he will receive 135 crowns for his efforts. The quest will then conclude.

If our hero appears to the king without the crystal or remains silent about it, the king will simply chase the witcher away, paying him nothing. The quest will conclude here, and with it, the opportunity to show/give the crystal to Triss or Yennefer will also disappear, although it will not go anywhere from the Quest Items section of the Inventory (unless, of course, you gave it to the witch hunters).

Consequences. If you give the crystal to Radovid, during the side quest “State Affairs” (Act III) in dialogue with him, one additional line will appear.

UNFREED NOVIGRAD

Recommended level: 11

The quest will automatically start after completing the main quest “Service for Radovid” and the side quest “A Question of Life and Death” (see below), just that you won’t find out about it immediately, if at all.

Attention! “Unfreed Novigrad” is not just one quest, but a series of quests (displayed in the Journal) and events (not displayed anywhere). Both will activate only if our hero finds and talks to/attacks quest characters. Finding them is a matter of pure randomness, as initially, it is completely unclear that you need to look for someone and that the quests and events have already activated.

Implicit Phase of the Quest

Event #1: The Vengeful Fire Guard Certificate

If, after completing the above-mentioned quests, Geralt attempts to enter Novigrad through any gates, the guards will stop him and demand to present a certificate confirming that he is neither a sorcerer nor a mage, and the witcher has no such certificate. What to do? Help will come unexpectedly and from a source Geralt did not expect. Another guard will approach the temple guard blocking his way, show him some paper, and order him to “let this one pass.” It will practically become known who the benefactor was that obtained the required document for the witcher – Sigi Reuven. After this incident, the Inventory of the hero will be added with the “Vengeful Fire Guard Certificate”, granting him the right to move freely around the city.

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If, after completion of the above quests, Geralt, using the fast travel feature, enters the city without going through the gates, he will skip the scene with the guards and the certificate. It will appear when attempting to leave the city through any of the gates.

If previously, during the main quest of Act I “A Dream in the Big City”, Geralt intentionally kicked out a hometown Sara from one of the Novigrad houses, then with greetings from Sigi Reuven, he might receive the promised commission from Rudolff de Jonker, the former owner of that building. However, some players report that their Geralt received the commission before activating “Unfreed Novigrad.”

Event #2: Save Moritz Diefenthale

If, after completing the above quests, Geralt attempts to enter Novigrad through the Gates of Glory (46), he will witness the burning of another sorcerer right at the gates. This is Moritz Diefenthale, whom the witcher recently met at a masquerade at Wegelbud’s (see below the quest