Kaer Muire is a town in Skelliga, which players can, visit for a whole bunch of side content. The location of Ard Skellig is found to the southwestern edge of Ard Skellig, the main island of the region. Upon arrival, there’s plenty of side content and main missions to sink your teeth into for rewards. You can either stumble upon here naturally, or get sent to jail at the end of the Lighthouse questline.

Well… you didn’t make it very far in your quest to sail around the north of Skellige. In fact, you’re now in the dungeon of Kaer Muire, stronghold of Jarl “Madman” Lugos“, along the south-western end of Ard Skellig. You’re farther away than when you started! But you did get a few things done, and scored a bit of loot, so it wasn’t all a loss.

Stranger in a Strange Land (Level 14) Walkthrough¶

Head to the gate to talk to the guard. Geralt naively asks when his trial date is, and the guard will give a time-table that’s just… unacceptable. Nothing you say can persuade the guard, but fortunately, a Witcher has other means… either use Axii on the guard, or end the conversation and talk to a man at the opposite end of the cave called Simun Brambling, who will promise that you’ll get out of here today, one way or another. He’ll tell you what you need to say to get the guard to let you have your trial today… but you’ll owe him a favor later

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Either use Axii on the guard (left) or talk to a fellow prisoner (right) to earn your release from prison and an audience with Madman Lugos.

Either way, you’ll be taken to your trial, where Leif - the father of the thugs you killed - is advocating for your demise. Say what you will, as the trial is a sham, anyways. The Jarl will sentence you, pay your fine, then generously give you the opportunity to pay off your debt to him. Another Skelliger extorting you into helping him, and another Jarl whose idiot kid has run off and now needs rescuing. The quest “Stranger in a Strange Land” ends, and the quest “The Cave of Dreams” begins.

Exploring Kaer Muire¶

Well, while you’re here you might as well explore the place, right? On the grounds of Kaer Muire you’ll find a Smith and an Armorer, who both play Gwent, as well as offering typical merchant services. There’s also a bit of loot that takes some exploring to get. Head north through Kaer Muire and up a hill until the path splits. At this point turn north-west and you’ll spot a archway leading to a tower. Ignore the structure, however, and instead make your way west to find a section of wall you can jump onto. Do so and make your way along the wall to the south-west and drop down the rubble to reach a lower section of wall. Continue south to find a chest hiding in the ruins of another tower.

Leave Kaer Muire and follow the winding road to the west until you come across a small village, complete with a notice board. The notice board holds only junk notices, but in the first house to the north you’ll find Mathios, who is looking for “Holger Blackhand’s Horn”. Might as well turn this in while you’re here, eh? He’ll lament the death of the thieves, but will pay up, nonetheless.

Holmsteins Port¶

If you follow another winding road to the south (ignore the road to the north-west for now) you’ll find “Holmstein’s Port”, where there’s precious little to see. There’s a Merchant north of the signpost that will play Gwent and do business, but aside from that, there’s little to recommend this place. There is, however, plenty of loot lying around, albeit mostly low-quality, but… one can never have enough Alcohest and Dwarven Spirit, right? For the only bit of noteworthy loot head up three flights of progressively shorter stairs along the south-eastern end of the docks, then continue up some stone steps to find a humble cave, where there are several parcels and a chest to loot.

By Land or By Sea¶

Might as well help out the Jarl’s son since you’re down here… been an awful lot of “might as wells” in this part of the guide, hasn’t there? Oh well. The Jarl’s idiot son is to the south-east. If you go by land you’ll have to fight or avoid an Armored Arachas (level twenty-six) and some Endrega Drones (level twenty), and further east prowl some White Wolves (level fifteen). Further uphill from where the Endrega lurk you may also encounter a Rabid Rock Troll (level sixteen).

Along the way - in the forests that line the shore - you can find some ruins, now little more than crumbling brickwork rarely more than human height which vaguely hint at the rectangular structures they once enclosed. In the eastern-most of these ruins, before where the White Wolves prowl, you can find some loot, including a body to search, parcels, and a well-hidden chest covered by foliage in the north-western corner of said ruins. On the other hand, your destination is coastal, and there’s far more to see and loot if you sail there (and go a bit out of the way while doing so.) Who knows? Maybe you’ll have better luck sailing to your destination this time than last time?

Smugglers Cache(s) (Levels 13 and 16)¶

Sail north-west from Holmstein’s Port to find a Smuggler’s Cache event. Another similar event can be found south and slightly west. Both are guarded by Sirines (level thirteen), but there are only two chests in the southern of the two. Sacrilege! Anyways, a third Smuggler’s Cache event can be found to the south-east, complete with Ekhidna (level sixteen) defenders. A fourth such event is north of an island to the south-west, where you’ll find more Sirines (level thirteen). Unlike the previous two events, though, there are three chests here. Hooray…

Spoils of War¶

For an ever-so-slight change of pace sail south-east to the southern side of an island, where you’ll find a “Spoils of War” event. At the location, dive off your boat and swim underwater to find a chest near a small sunken ship.

Smugglers Cache/Hidden Treasure (Level 13)¶

Sail east to find another Smuggler’s Cache event along the western side of an island, then sail to the southern side of the island to find a “Hidden Treasure” event. Deal with some Sirines (level thirteen), then dive near a capsized ship, near (south of) which you’ll find several corpses, crates, and, most importantly, a chest.

Smugglers Cache (Level 13)¶

Return to your boat and pilot it north-east to find an abandoned longboat floating aimlessly. When you approach you’ll discover another “Smuggler’s Cache” event, and you’ll notice that the boat isn’t entirely abandoned - it now houses a number of Sirine Nests. Sadly, these can’t be destroyed, but with any luck a storm will take care of this problem for you. Kill the Sirines flying around (level thirteen) and loot the chests floating around.