Dandelion may have been rescued from the Witch Hunters, but the man possesses an uncanny talent for finding trouble. Fortunately this time around his troubles are mostly domestic, as the matter of operating the brothel he’s inherited while keeping Priscilla happy seems to be in direct conflict. Even Dandelion’s personal matters require Geralt’s intervention, as the Witcher finds himself lured into the project. This page will provide a walkthrough for the quest Cabaret in The Witcher 3.

Quest Objectives¶

Starting Cabaret¶

This quest will begin as soon as you finish A Poet Under Pressure, but won’t really get moving until you return to the Rosemary & Thyme in Novigrad. Inside, Priscilla and Dandelion will publicly argue before the young trobairitz storms off, where she’ll find herself a spot to sulk just outside of the brothel.

Help Dandelion Get a Loan from Sophronia¶

Talk to Dandelion and he’ll explain the problem and how he intends to get the coin to rectify it. Geralt’s participation is, of course, necessary, and you’ll be tasked with picking up a prop sword from Irina - the bard you conspired with to put on a play during The Play’s the Thing. Find her near the stage south of Hierarch Square and she’ll hand over the Blunt Sword without much fuss - Geralt should equip it automatically when he needs it, so don’t worry about it.

Now you need to make your way to Sophronia’s house, which can be found north of Hierarch Square. Rest until dusk (10 PM will suffice) and head to the marked house to trigger a scene with Dandelion, who explains his… very Dandelion plan. He wants to put on a dazzling display of heroism by rescuing Sophronia from a bandit, with Geralt naturally assigned to play the bandit and Dandelion the vanquishing hero. Make whatever comments you will about the plan, which will shortly be put into action.

There are two phases to Dandelion’s performance - first you need to recite the lines he wrote for you (two timed dialog choices), then you have to lose a fight against Dandelion. Of course, you can go rogue and say whatever you wish during the dialog choices, and you can beat Dandelion up during the fight (it should only take one hit), the only difference is the EXP you’ll get - you’ll earn 50 EXP if you recite Dandelion’s terrible dialog and let him win, or 25 EXP if you call him a “Crimson asshole” and spank him with your prop sword. Either way, Sophronia will be suitably awed or take pity on Dandelion, achieving the desired result.

Choose a Theme for the Cabaret¶

After helping Dandelion into the arms (and purse) of Sophronia, head back to the Rosemary and Thyme and wait until morning, whereupon an annoyed dwarf will start complaining about Dandelion’s absence. Apparently the errant bard is planning to remodel the interior and his tardiness has the contractor irate. After some chatter you’ll need to choose on Dandelion’s behalf between two themes: a theatrical theme or a boudoir style theme. Dandelion will be happier with the theatrical theme, but aside from changing the interior of the establishment for the rest of the game and some commentary from Dandelion later, this choice doesn’t really matter much.

Help Dandelion Recruit Polly¶

With the matter of the interior decorations settled, Dandelion’s absence remains to be sorted out, and Priscilla will tell Geralt that Dandelion mentioned going after their choreographer, a woman named Polly. It’s the only lead you’ve got, to head over to Polly’s house west of the Rosemary and Thyme where you’ll find Dandelion pounding on the door. Talk to him, after which you’ll need to search for a key - use your Witcher sense and examine a bucket to the right of the door to find the Key to Polly’s Home.

Use the newfound key to open the door, and once inside you’ll end up in a confrontation with Polly’s man, Hubio, who is overly concerned about Polly “shaking her ass” over at Dandelion’s brothel. You’ll get two timed decisions to explain the situation or pick a fight - pick the top option both times to remain peaceful or the either of the second options to start a fight. If you provoke Hubio (Lv15) you’ll have to defeat him in a fistfight - he’s got a lot of health, but he’s not a skilled boxer, so the ol’ parry-and-counter should suffice to whittle his health down. If you beat Hubio up Polly will decide to break up with him, while if you talk things out they’ll stay together, an outcome which has no bearing whatsoever on this or any other quest in the future, nor your reward. Hubio’s a possessive prick, though, so you’re probably doing Polly a favor by beating him up.

Get the Placards from Rautlec¶

There’s only one more thing Dandelion needs before he can open his new Cabaret - he commissioned a friend named Henri Rautlec to create some placards for him, and Rautlec hasn’t delivered. Given how much trouble Dandelion gets up to on his own, Geralt wisely sends Dandelion back to the Rosemary and Thyme and volunteers to handle the placards himself.

Make your way to Rautlec’s house, which can be found on Novigrad’s middle island, northwest of The Golden Sturgeon. Inside you’ll find two Bandits ransacking the place. Rautlec’s been a naughty boy and these two are here as debt collectors, currently hauling off anything of value to sell to recoup what Rautlec owes… and they’re not keen on sharing. Another fistfight breaks out, and this one can be a bit tricky. Your foes, the two Bandits (Lv11), aren’t talented pugilists, but there’s two of them and you’re stuck fighting in a small area, so parrying and countering might not be the best way to win this fistfight. First time for everything. The counter animation takes time and you’re not immune to damage during it, so being too good at fistfighting can actually be disadvantageous here. Instead, rely on dodging and immediately attacking afterwards - your foes should be too slow to get their guard up before you land a hit or two and dodging gives you iframes, unlike parrying.

Beat both the Bandits or not, either way you’ll learn that Rautlec is probably at the races digging himself deeper in debt. Travel to the Vegelbud Residence far to the east of Novigrad, north of Oxenfurt. Just northwest of the walled off estate are where the races are held - you visited this location during the main quest Broken Flowers. Find Henri Rautlec just southwest of the race stands, who is currently being corrupted by one Count de Luverten into making another bad gamble.

Help Rautlec at the Races¶

After the count leaves, talk to Rautlec and you’ll be presented with three options: win the race for Rautlec so he can bet on you and clear his debts, just pay off his debts yourself (200 Crowns, but this will earn you 20 EXP) or give up on the flutter-loving halfling and decide Dandelion can live without his placards. Horse controls in this game are bad at the best of times, and this can make the prospect of racing a tedious one, but as far as races go, this one is pretty easy. You’re up against one opponent, the route is simple and aside from having to slow to a canter to recover your horse’s stamina once during the race, it’s not a mechanical complex endeavor. Winning the race will save you 200 Crowns, earn you an extra 25 EXP, 80 Crowns and a Mastercrafted Saddle, as well as settling Rautlec’s debt. Of course, if you promise to win and then lose, Rautlec will be even deeper in the hole, and to get him solvent you’ll now need to pay 270 Crowns… but that’s what reloads are for. In addition to the rewards mentioned above, settling Rautlec’s debt will earn you 25 EXP, so if you’d rather not bother with any of this you’re only giving up a pittance of EXP.

Return to the Rosemary and Thyme¶

With the Rautlec situation dealt with one way or another, return back to the Rosemary and Thyme in Novigrad and talk to Dandelion. Here he’ll comment on your choice of decor as everybody gets ready for the grand opening. Everybody besides Dandelion and Geralt, anyways. Chat with Dandelion and you’ll get two EXP rewards for the quest, 70 EXP and 50 EXP, although for what, exactly, is hard to tell. Eventually you’ll be interrupted by some random NPC with some dire news, and this quest will seamlessly transition to its followup, Carnal Sins.