Pellars dabble in esoteric folk magic, and the pellar north of Blackbough seems to focus on healing, divination, protection charms and, perhaps most of all, putting tormented souls to eternal rest. Between the war and the ever more zealous Redanian witch hunters, plying his trade has become more dangerous, but with the curse on Fyke Isle being lifted, the Pellar is willing to risk engaging in one of the most important rituals of the year. This page will provide a walkthrough for the quest Forefather’s Eve in The Witcher 3.

Quest Objectives¶

Starting Forefather’s Eve¶

This quest will begin after you complete A Towerful of Mice, at the end of which you’ll need to report to Keira Metz. After you inform her that the curse on Fyke Isle has been lifted (and presumably accepted her next favor, starting A Favor for a Friend) leave her hut and you’ll find the Pellar waiting for you. He, too, has a favor to ask in the wake of Fyke Isle’s cleansing. He’s got a ritual to perform, and he needs a “man who fears no evil” to “protect a circle from wandering and damned souls”. Sounds like a job for a Witcher!

Exhaust the Pellar’s dialog options, if you wish, then accept the quest. The Pellar says the ritual will begin at midnight, on Fyke Isle, but he doesn’t necessarily mean tonight. You’re free to go about other business if you don’t care to start this quest right away, and we recommend you complete both A Favor for a Friend and its followup quest For the Advancement of Learning. Both will earn you more EXP, are less combat-focused than Forefather’s Eve, and For the Advancement of Learning will even put you on Fyke Isle, making it a breeze to transition from one quest to the next.

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Exit Keira’s hut after lifting the curse on Fyke Isle and the Pellar will offer you a job.

In any event, sail or swim over to the eastern edge of Fyke Isle, or if you completed the aforementioned quests, just hoof it east from the tower after you’re done with Keira Metz. Make sure it’s close to midnight (meditate if you must) and you’ll find the Pellar and numerous peasants gathered in the ruins on the eastern edge of the isle. All you need to do to get things rolling is talk to the Pellar.

Defend the Ritual¶

Talk to the Pellar and tell him you’re ready to start. The Pellar will oblige you and, as he warned, evil will be drawn to the ritual in the form of several Drowners (Lv7) and a Water Hag (Lv7). Despite all the chatter about “protecting the circle”, these monsters don’t seem particularly interested in anything besides Geralt. That being the case, fight smart and safe and cut down your foes, focusing on the Drowners first (Igni can help if the bunch up) after which you’ll be left with a conventional one-on-one battle with the surviving Water Hag.

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(1 of 2) Fend off a Water Hag and some Drowners during the ritual,

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Fend off a Water Hag and some Drowners during the ritual, (left), after which a spirit will arrive to accuse the Pellar. (right)

Deal With the Witch Hunters¶

Defeat the monsters and after a scene where a spirit accuses the Pellar, another, more severe threat will threaten to disrupt the ritual: Witch hunters. How they found out about this or why they decided to brave the dangers of Fyke Isle with just the three of them are interesting questions, but as for this quest this is a pretty simple issue. The Pellar will beg you to help him, and if you refuse by picking the dialog option “Not my fight.” the quest will end and you’ll gain 200 EXP, but the Pellar will be angry with you and whatever issue he had with the spirit that appeared will be unresolved.

Alternatively, pick the dialog option “Leave them alone.” to defend the Pellar and the creepy local ritual, which will naturally enrage the Witch Hunters (Lv7). They’re competent enough opponents in that you can’t just attack them endlessly - they’ll eventually parry. That said, none of them possess shields or two-handed weapons and you have the Pellar assisting you, so they shouldn’t be hard to dispatch. After they’re defeated you’ll gain 200 EXP - talk to the Pellar again and bid him continue with the ritual.

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(1 of 3) The spirit isn’t alone in interrupting the ritual however, as some Witch Hunters will also arrive. If you don’t intervene, the quest will end and the Pellar will be quite unhappy with you.

Defeat the Wraiths¶

While the Witch Hunters couldn’t stop the ritual by force of arms, their spilled blood provided the catalyst for something that could, and it won’t be long before the Pellar abandons his attempt to restart the ritual as a haunt of Wraiths approaches. Defeat the Wraiths (Lv7) - there are only several of them and there’s nothing special about these ones after which Geralt will talk to the Pellar about the ghost that appears to accuse him. Exhaust the Pellar’s dialog options and you’ll be tasked with finding the body of the Pellar’s father and destroying the remains, unmooring the spirit from the physical world.

Destroy the Body of the Pellar’s Father¶

The most difficult part of the phase of the quest is arguably reaching the swamps where the Pellar’s father’s body lies. It’s far to the east, a good ways south and east of Lindenvale, far enough away that your best bet is to probably just get a boat and sail directly to the edge of the swamp from Fyke Isle.

After nearly three minutes of sailing you’ll reach your destination. Disembark onto dry land… well, land, anyways, and head to the center of the large search area. Keep an eye out for Rotfiends (Lv7) as they prowl near the corpse. Dispatch the Rotfiends, then use your Witcher sense to identify the body before hitting it with Igni. With the body destroyed, the Pellar should be safe. Return to his hut north of Blackbough and tell him the news and you’ll get a brief confession, as well as 50 EXP and 50 Crowns.

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(1 of 5) Following the disruption of the ritual, you’ll be tasked with destroying the body of the Pellar’s father, which is in the swamps to the east.