Contract: Here Comes the Groom (Level 19) Walkthrough¶

Might as well start out with the notice board contract - Witcher’s work, and all. Head down to the port of Svorlag to find a man named Kevan standing near a warehouse. Ask about his notice and he’ll tell the story; according to Kevan’s sister, Britt, something flew off with her betrothed, but Kevan suspects a more mundane reasons for Nils’ disappearance

Haggle for some coin, then follow the shore north, and when you run out of north turn east for a short distance, then turn south along some short coastal cliffs. Along these cliffs you’ll find Britt, who is understandably in a foul mood. Persevere and question her about Nils, and she’ll tell you that some flying creature swooped down and carried him off. Sadly, that doesn’t narrow the possible beasties down sufficiently - Wyvern, Basilisk, Griffin, Cockatrice, Forktail, Harpy, Sirine…

Anyways, while you may not yet know what you’re facing, you at least know where to loot, and the location of the caves you’re interested in provides you a fine excuse to explore down to the south-west. Don’t worry, there’s not much to do along the way. Head back into Svorlag, to the Jarl’s house in particular, and from there follow a road north of his house to the south-west, then south. When you reach a fork, continue south-west, and when you reach a second fork, take the more southern of the two paths south-west.

Bandit Camp (Level 14)¶

Here you’ll discover the “Old Watchtower” signpost, the ruins of which are now occupied by Bandits (levels twelve and fourteen). There come in all varieties, but they’re out-leveled, and you’ve been butchering Bandits by the dozen now. Put them down, then search the tower to find some containers on the ground floor, then head upstairs and loot a chest before going through a doorway and looting a parcel.

Mastercrafted Wolven Trousers Locations¶

Now, for a very nice bit of loot leave the tower and stand by the campfire outside. From here cast your gaze to the north-west to fine a crumbling white stone wall with an intact doorway, near which a large tree grows. Head over to the wall and climb on top of it (anywhere near the tree will do - Geralt is unusually willing to leap up on this structure) and turn south-west to find an ornate chest resting on the wall. Inside this chest you’ll find the “Diagram: Mastercrafted Wolven Trousers” .

Leave the tower and return north-east to the northern road, which you should now continue to follow it south-west. When you reach a fork, take the southern of the two paths to encounter a Cyclops (level twenty-one), then continue south-west to where the roads reunite again. Merrily follow the road south-west, then south to reach the shore, at which point turn east to finally reach the cave.

Head into the cave, which is infested with Drowners (level fifteen). After killing your first necrophage, Geralt will make an obvious observation about Drowners. When you’re no longer being immediately pestered by necrophages, use your Witcher Senses to find an odd trail on the ground, which, when investigated, will allow Geralt to identify a more plausible culprit for Nils’ disappearance.

Read More: Wolf School Gear Scavenger Hunt

Ursine Crossbow Location¶

The Sirine trail leads you down a watery cavern to the left, but there’s some nice treasure to be found if you ignore the trail for now - and it doesn’t require any back-tracking! Near the start of the trail, instead of following it north-east down the left tunnel, instead turn east to find a ledge you can scale. Do so, then leap a gap to the north-east, climb another ledge, and finally leap another - larger - cap to reach a ledge with a skeleton on it. Search the skeleton to obtain the “Letter to Ingeborga Kalebsdotter” and the “Diagram: Ursine Crossbow” .

Once you have the diagram, walk north-east along the ledge, which mirrors the watery cavern below. Veer north, drop down a few ledges to reach a watery chamber, then head through a hole in the rock to the east to reach a larger chamber where several more Drowners await. Dispatch them, then investigate the large shrine in the center of the chamber and some scales to the north-east to deduce more about your target.

Continue down a passage to the north-east, then turn south to find the largest chamber yet in the cavern complex. Another handful of Drowners skulk around, so destroy them (some explosive barrels may help with this) before popping your Witcher Senses back on and following the Melusine’s trail to the south.

Scale some ledges to reach daylight again, then turn south-east to discover Nils. Investigate the body to determine what killed him. Maybe upon closer examination the Melusine didn’t fancy him? Maybe it was poor bedside manners? Or maybe this is just how the Melusine tenderizes her meat when she gets back to her nest? Whatever the case, the Melusine will show up after the examination.

Confronting the Melusine¶

The Melusine fights much like any other Sirine or Ekhidna you’ve fought before - they scream a lot and have one swooping attack. The differences are that the Melusine hits like a truck, and isn’t so easily knocked out of the sky. Pop a few crossbow bolts at her, anyways, to get her attention.

After she starts performing her swooping attacks you can thwart her easily enough by using the alternate mode of Quen (the “Active Shield” ability) which, when mixed with the “Exploding Shield” ability should be sufficient to stun her. Just wait for her to make contact with your Quen shield, then release it to create an opening, subsequently going to work on the stunned or prone beast with your silver sword… perhaps coated with some Hybrid Oil?

If you don’t have Quen, you can also substitute it with Aard to knock her out of the air (blast her as she approaches to attack), or simply wait for her to attack and counter at the last moment, although the latter option is trickier, and she’ll often end up poisoning you even if she doesn’t land a hit (i.e; even if you successfully riposte, you won’t take damage from the attack, but you’ll still be poisoned).

However you manage it, once she’s dead go claim your “Assassin’s Trousers” , an “Ekhidna Mutagen” and an “Ekhidna Trophy” , then return to Svorlag by whatever means you find expedient. Tell Kevan the news, who regrets having doubted his sister, then asks you to perform a rather distasteful task. If you decline and force him to be a good brother for a change, the quest will end. If you agree to give Britt the bad news, she’ll attempt to give you another, far smaller reward on top of the one you already got. Your call. Either way, the quest is done.

Spikerogg’s Place of Power¶

There are two more things you can do on Spikerogg, and this is by far the most lucrative. Free ability points are pretty damn priceless, after all. Make your way back to the front (southern side of) the Jarl’s old family house and turn your attention to the south-western edge of the wooden porch. Near the house is a stone ledge you can scale (Geralt can jump pretty high when he wants to!), after which scale another ledge and make your way uphill to the south-west, then turn north-west and climb onto some wooden stairs. The wooden stairs quickly give way to stone, which in turn lead to a Place of Power. Ascend, and draw from the Place of Power to claim your ability point.

Master of the Arena (Level 14) Walkthrough¶

The next - and last - stop on Spikerogg is the small village of Hov on the north-eastern part of the island. You know, that large peninsula across the bay from Svorlag? Speaking of which, return to Svorlag, head to the port and follow a road running north near the coast - not the same road you took to find Britt, however, but a road runnel parallel to it further west. When this road forks turn east, and when it forks again follow the south-eastern fork. After a bit of a meandering run uphill the road will branch into a web of roads - just keep heading south-east to reach the village of Hov.

Make your way to a watch tower along the south-western end of town to find two guards named Lydrik and Gunnar, who seem to be having some problems with a wraith. Talk to them and they’ll tell you the tale of Ulle the Unlucky, a conspicuously bad arena contestant who came to be cursed to fight endless, losing battles in Hov’s arena throughout his afterlife. Agree to take the job after they promise to pay you for the task to start the quest “Master of the Arena”.

Head into the arena, where Ulle the Unlucky will appear, apparently none too happy about fighting again. Talk to him and he’ll keep whinging, after which challenge him to a fight. The solution should be fairly obvious - smacking him around hasn’t worked thus far, so why not just let the poor ghost win? Let him smack you around until your health is low, after which Ulle will stop the fight, declare himself the winner, and finally be free from his eternal torment. Return to the two guards, who will reward you and promise you future rewards from the initial earnings of the arena.

To claim this extra reward and finish the quest off for good, just leave the Skellige Isles entirely, then return and talk to the two guards. Once done, all your business in Spikerogg will be concluded. It’s time to go help Crach’s other kid… exploring the sea on the way.