Sorceresses are duplicitous, as Geralt has learned from frequent experience. But they’re also pretty - another one of their deceptions, as magic is used to remove blemishes and deformities when they come into their power, all the better to prepare them for public life. Geralt knows this, but it thus far hasn’t caused him to develop any resistance to their wiles, and following a nice date with Keira Metz the Witcher once again finds himself a part of a sorceress’ schemes. This page will provide a walkthrough for the quest For the Advancement of Learning in The Witcher 3, including all the choices and outcomes involving Keira Metz.

Quest Objectives¶

Starting For the Advancement of Learning¶

This quest will begin immediately after its predecessor, A Favor for a Friend ends. After their dinner date Keira will use magic to put Geralt to sleep on the shore, and when the Witcher wakes up Keira will be gone, the aforementioned quest will end, and this quest will begin.

Sail Back to Fyke Island¶

The quest may be started, but to really get things moving you’ll need to find a boat. Open up your map and look for a white ship icon, then head over to it… or you could just swim, if commandeering a boat is too much bother. If you don’t care to pursue this quest straight way, you don’t have to - the quest won’t fail any time soon. You can postpone it until [The Isle of Mists] if you wish. That said, it’s easy enough to complete now, and if you end up overleveled the quest will be worth less EXP, which is a shame, especially considering there may not be any combat involved whatsoever, depending on your choices.

Confront Keira Metz¶

Sail or swim to the eastern end of the island and make landfall near the tower. Enter the palisade-enclosed grounds around the tower and Geralt will notice a light in the windows near the top of the tower, confirming that somebody’s snooping around up there. Ghosts don’t need lights and only one other living person knows that the curse on Fyke Isle has been lifted, and that there are valuables up in Alexander’s lab. Sure enough, approach the tower’s entrance and you’ll get a scene where Keira Metz emerges from the tower, notes in hand.

Your dialog choices will determine how this encounter plays out, and while there are minor variations depending on the exact choices you make, there are three major endings:

• Convince Keira Metz to shelter in Kaer Morhen.
• Let Kiera Metz parley with Radovid.
• Fight Keira Metz to stop her from taking Alexander’s notes.

Roleplay considerations aside, the best choice is arguably to convince Keira to go to Kaer Morhen, as this will allow you to get the Full Crew achievement. If you do not send Keira to Kaer Morhen, it will be impossible to obtain this achievement. She’ll also show up to help during a quest later in the game. For a more detailed explanation of the outcomes of these choices, check out the spoiler box, below, and of course, for instructions on how to get the ending you want, read the text under the appropriate header.

Let Keira Metz Go¶

Convincing Keira Metz to go to Kaer Morhen or picking a fight with her require you to make specific dialog choices, although in the case of the latter, insulting her can all but box you into a confrontation. At pretty much every phase of the conversation with Keira, however, you have the choice to just walk away. The other dialog options will be bold, so it’s easy to spot which options will end the conversation (it’ll always be the last option on the list, when it appears). This completes the quest, earns you 100 EXP, avoids a fight, and frees Keira to take Alexander’s notes to Radovid.

Defeat Keira Metz¶

Forcing a confrontation with Keira is distressingly easy. Demand she give you Alexander’s notes without first convincing her to go to Kaer Morhen and she’ll stand her ground, and unlike most of the fodder Geralt has been fighting, be it monsters or bandits, a sorceress poses a legitimate threat to a Witcher, lore-wise. There are multiple dialog options that trigger hostilities, including *“Gimme the notes.” or “Can’t let you do that.” or “Notes first. Hand them over.”, and insulting Keira or belittling her plight is a good way to box yourself into a corner that results either in a fight, or in Geralt letting Keira walk away.

Assuming you choose one of the aforementioned options and a fight becomes inevitable, Keira poses a unique threat, attacking you with largely the same spells she used as your ally back in Wandering in the Dark. Her attacks include:

• A bolt of lightning shot straight at Geralt from Keira’s hand
• A diagonal lightning bolt summoned from the sky
• A barrage of magic missiles

Dodge and Quen are useful in most fights, but particularly in this one - you should generally alway be dodging to avoid Keira’s attacks, which she fires off with little pause. As long as you’re dodging you probably won’t get hit, with the exception of Keira’s magic missile attack, which, if she starts casting it when you’re too close, may make it hard to dodge all the projectiles.

Despite the rare failure of dodge iframes to keep you safe, your best bet is to dodge-spam and use that not only to avoid attacks, but to close the distance on Keira. Get too close and she’ll wisely teleport away, so you’ll need to start swinging when you’re still a little distance away and hope Geralt does the right attack animation and closes the gap as part of his swing, as you probably won’t be able to land a hit otherwise. There’s no “rule of three” here, once you strike, keep swinging. Eventually Keira will unleash an AoE burst that staggers Geralt and gives her time to teleport away, but if you’re lucky you can land 3-4 hits in a single assault and remove a good chunk of Keira’s health. It should go without saying, but keep your Quen sign up at all times and don’t be shy about chugging a Thunderbolt and/or Tawny Owl to boost your damage and stamina regeneration, respectively.

This fight ideally won’t last long, one way or another, and once you get the attack distance down on Keira, it should be all but over for her. Loot her body and Geralt will burn Alexander’s note. The quest will end and Geralt will gain 200 EXP.

Convince Keira to go to Kaer Morhen¶

Letting Keira walk or picking a fight were relatively simple tasks; one option was effectively just giving up on diplomacy and the other could be done by simply being mean-spirited. Convincing Keira to do the right thing and not imperil the lives of thousands by trying to bargain with a madman is a bit harder. Keira’s pride and dignity have been deeply wounded by loss of status and subsequent flight to Velen, and she’s willing to take dangerous risks to end her suffering.

One way to get Keira to see sense is to start out by asking “What’s with the notes?” then follow up with “Radovid’s not interested in medication.” and finally “Thousands may die. It’ll be on your head.”. Alternatively you can say “Radovid never forgets.” followed by “It’s suicide.”. This will cause Keira to become emotional and get to the heart of her plight, narcissistic as it is, Keira Metz is not keen to suffer the hardships endured by commonfolk. Now you’ll get the option to provide an alternative: pick the option “Go to Kaer Morhen.” and if you wish you’ll next be able to demand Alexander’s note by saying “Before I go… The notes, I’ll take ’em.”. This will get you the item Alexander’s Notes, which surprisingly doesn’t seem to have any influence over any future quests or events.

Convincing Keira to head to Kaer Morhen - whether you get Alexander’s notes or not - will end the quest, earn you 100 EXP and Keira may just pop up again when Geralt needs aid…