Deserting is usually frowned upon by militaries, and while the punishment is harsh, it rarely involves a Witcher. When a deserter is left at the mercy of monsters, however, the line between a Witcher meddling in politics and a Witcher doing his job becomes pretty blurry. Decide the fate of a deserter in the freeform quest At the Mercy of 
Strangers in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Quest Objectives¶
Starting At the Mercy of Strangers¶
You’ll find this quest just by stumbling across it as you travel. Follow the road west from Mulbrydale and it’ll intersect with another road running north and south. At this intersection you’ll hear somebody calling for help - head southwest to find a bound man being menaced by a pair of 
Drowners. You’ll get an exclamation point on your map when you get close enough, but despite this marker this quest doesn’t have an entry in the quest log and isn’t properly named in-game.
You can start this quest by heading to the coast west of Mulbrydale.
Save the Deserter¶
Approach the Drowners (Lv4) and their buddy and the necrophages will decide that they’re not keen on sharing, and will rudely attack. Teach them some manners courtesy of your silver sword, and once they’re dispatched talk to the bound man, John Verdun. After he tell his tale you’ll get two options, if you say “I won’t help you.” Geralt will coldly abandon the man to his fate. If you leave and return (heading to 
Mulbrydale and back should suffice) you’ll find that another pair of Drowners found John Verdun in your absence and he’s quite dead now. Alternatively if you say “I’ll untie you.” Geralt will follow through, and while John Verdun has no money to give you, you will earn some EXP for your trouble.
(1 of 2) Kill the Drowners pestering a bound man,
Kill the Drowners pestering a bound man, (left), then talk to the deserter and either free him or leave him to his fate. (right)
Meet Up With John Verdun¶
If you freed John Verdun, there’s a second part to this quest, but you’ll need to cross the river to the north to trigger it. This likely means you’ll need to acquire a Transit Pass, which you can do by completing several quests, including Fake Papers, Contract: Woodland Beast or Family Matters. Cross the river at the Border Post and make your way northwest to Ursten. You’ll find John Verdun northwest of 
Ursten and he’s doing quite well for himself in both wealth and companionship thanks to his new… ah… vocation. Unfortunately it’s not entirely above board, and saving a man from monsters merely unleashed another type of monster upon the world.
(1 of 4) Obtain a Transit Pass to cross the river,
Pick the dialog option “I’ll take the coin.” and Geralt will sully his coin purse with 50 
Crowns gain some EXP and wash his hands of the matter. If you instead respond with “Should’ve left you back there on the bank…” and John Verdun will considerately try to unburden your conscience with a bit of murder. Put John Verdun (Lv5) and his fellow Bandits (Lv3) down - there’s a shield-bearing Bandit, one armed with a spear and another with a two-handed axe - and you’ll gain the same amount of EXP as if you took the money, but of course, no money. You can loot the bandits, which should count for something. Either way, loot their camp to find a 
Letter from Toben, which shows the ramifications of letting people like John Verdun loose.
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After you slay the drowners and decide what to do with Johnny boy. Look along the waters edge to the just slightly to the north. There's a chest, next to a big rock in the water. Not the in it. It was a runestone for me. But every little bit helps.
Thanks! I'll give it a look-see and update if I can replicate.