To engage in warfare is to commit atrocities, almost by definition. There will be collateral damage, disruptions in commerce and agriculture leading to famine, and the inevitable spread of disease caused by the destruction of infrastructure and concentration of bodies seeking safety. Fortunately some people just aren’t wired to be monsters, as their conscience cannot bear the realities of war. To the bloodthirsty sociopaths who always seem to end up in power, untouched by humanity or morality, this is as much of a threat as any enemy soldier is, and inappropriately premature peaceful sentiments are often harshly punished. This page will provide a walkthrough for the secondary quest Blood Ties in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Quest Objectives¶

Starting Blood Ties¶

To start this quest you’ll need to venture south to the Nilfgaardian Army Group ‘Center’ Camp, on the outskirts of which you’ll find a Nilfgaardian Woman - out of place in this environment, to be sure. Talk to her and she’ll tell you about her missing son, pointing out reasons why she’s suspicious about his whereabouts - not least due to Quartermaster Eggebracht’s stonewalling and unlikely claims. Agree to help her to start this quest.

Talk to Quartermaster Eggebracht¶

Before you go scouring the swamps, make your way deeper into the Nilfgaardian camp and talk to Quartermaster Eggebracht. Ask about the missing boy and you’ll get three options for learning the truth: first, you can bribe him with 150 Crowns, earning the standard 10% in return as EXP. You can save yourself a lot of money and earn even more EXP if you use Axii, however. Finally, if you completed Contract: Patrol Gone Missing in such a way that didn’t put you on bad terms with Eggebracht, you can just ask him. Either way, he’ll tell you what you want to know, confirming that the missing soldier’s mother was right to be suspicious.

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(1 of 2) Talk to a Nilfgaardian Woman and accept her request to search for her missing son,

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Talk to a Nilfgaardian Woman and accept her request to search for her missing son, (left), then find Quartermaster Eggebracht to get him to tell you the truth about why the soldier is missing. (right)

Find Hrodeberth’s Body¶

Now you’ll need to head into the swamps in pursuit of the deserters, and to find the trail head to the quest objective northwest of the House of Respite. Search the eastern edge of the search area when you arrive and you’ll find a dead horse and some tracks, the latter of which you can follow west into the swamp. This simple set of tracks ultimately lead to a wild smattering of tracks, which confirm the pursuit of the deserters was… dogged. Pun intended.

Kill a pack of Ghouls (Lv9) near the end of the tracks so you can search in peace, then follow some tracks to find some hanged men. Investigate one of the hanging corpses to confirm the hair color, then search the ground nearby for an Unsent Letter, confirming the identity of the body.

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(1 of 4) Find some tracks on the edge of the swamp and follow them west,

Choice: Tell the Nilfgaardian Mother the Truth or Lie¶

Return to the Nilfgaardian Woman outside of the Nilfgaardian camp and talk to her to inform her about her son’s fate. When she asks for details, you’ll get two options: Pick “Died in battle.” to tell her that her son was sociopathic enough to engage in the paid slaughter of others or “Deserted. Was caught.” to inform her that her son was too good for the business of war, and was murdered by his countrymen for his moral superiority. She’s more distraught about the truth than the lie, but Geral will read the letter he found to convince her that her son was, in fact, a deserter. Ultimately it doesn’t matter what you tell her, you’ll get the same reward - 10 EXP and 50 Crowns either way.

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Return to the Nilfgaardian Woman and either lie about her son’s death in combat, or tell the truth about his heroic desertion - the reward is the same either way.