The Witcher 3 has a few hidden quests knocking around Velen, which you may easily miss. One example is one of the bandit camp locations in Velen, which you learn of through the nearby meeting locations. When you visit one particular camp, you do get a side quest called Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire, which offers players a very annoying quest to find a well hidden chest.

Ho to start Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire¶

Follow the road from the house to the east, then south-east to discover a Bandit Camp near an unusually large tree. Dispatch the Deserters (levels seven and nine) and loot the chest they have in a crude tent.

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Blast a cellar door to find some cluse as to where the treasure lies (left) then find said treasure buried under a haystack (right).

Treasure Hunt: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire (Level 9)¶

South-east of this Bandit Camp you’ll spot a hill overlooking the road, atop which sits a pillaged village, now home to Ghouls (levels seven and nine). Smite the Necrophages, then loot around the village. In particular there are some corpses in a burnt-down house, some parcels on and near a wagon, and plenty of beehives around, for what that’s worth (about 12-24 Crowns per hive, to the right merchant, that’s what!) Take care of these, as they’ll only get in the way of your Frying Pan quest shortly.

Along the southern end of the village you’ll find a closed door leading to cellar built down into the hill. Blast it open with Aard to find some parcels well worth looting, and a corpse on a cot which can be searched for some “Crumpled Notes” and a “Key to Treasure Chest” . Very descriptive. This starts the quest “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire” . Read the note, leave the cellar, and head to the northern end of the search area to find a haystack overlooking the road below. Search the eastern end of the haystack to find a treasure chest buried in the hay.