Pyres of Novigrad Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Quest
Suggested level: 10
Group: Main Quests
Location: Novigrad
This quest will appear in your journal when after an audience with the Emperor you leave Vizima Castle and reach Velen - No Man's Land for the first time.
Ciri's trail took Geralt to Novigrad, the largest city in the North. It would take seas of ink to describe the city accurately, so suffice it to say it is the seat of the Church of the Eternal Fire, a bustling port city and a haven for artists… and all sorts of other shady characters.
Yet Novigrad at this time was not the city Geralt knew from his earlier travels. War raged throughout the known world, and rich cities often prove tempting morsels to armies on the march. It was clear at this time that this particular morsel had both Radovid and Emhyr greedily licking their chops. Within the city, the Temple Guard acted with impunity under the command of a cankerous snot named Caleb Menge and with the support of that terror-spreading band of zealots, the witch hunters. Meanwhile, the kingpins of the city's underworld still held much of it in their sleazy grasp.
Finding Ciri here would be like searching for a needle in a burning haystack - Geralt would clearly need some assistance. Luckily, an old acquaintance of his now lived in Novigrad. Her name was Triss Merigold.
Related points of interest
Triss House
Velen / Novigrad
Putrid Grove Gate
Velen / Novigrad
Quest stages of Pyres of Novigrad
1. Visit Triss in her house.
Go to Hierarch Square in Novigrad, where you will witness the execution carried out by witch hunters commanded by Menge. Then enter the courtyard of one of the houses on the south side of the square where Triss once lived. You will meet two looters there.
1.1. (Optional) Fight the thugs.
If you told the thieves to get lost, you'd make them angry and you'd have to beat them first.
No matter how you talk to them, they will eventually reveal that Triss probably went to Putrid Grove, seeking help from the King of Beggars. Your conversation will be interrupted by Menge and his men who will appear in the courtyard. Menge can't accuse you of anything yet, but he will make it clear to you that the witchers are not welcome in Novigrad and that he'll be waiting for your mistake.
2. Find the King of Beggars' hideout.
There are several ways to find and get to the King of Beggars' hideout.
2.1. (Optional) Look for thieves on the main square and carefully follow them.
When you return to the Hierarch Square, you will witness one of the citizens being robbed by a thief who then escapes. After a while, the thief will return to the square and you will be able to start following him.
Keeping the right distance, follow the thief. On the way, you're gonna get hooked up by a beggar, get rid of him any way you want. You'll also witness the thief handing over a stolen purse to another thief. If thief doesn't notice you then you will eventually reach the Putrid Grove Gate.
Approach the gate and talk to its guard. To be allowed to enter, you must choose one of the following options:
- Pay him 50 crowns. You will have to hand over your weapons before you can enter. (Less XP)
- Use Delusion (2). You will keep your weapons. (More XP)
2.1.1. (Optional) Defeat the bandits.
If you get noticed by a thief, he will lead you to an alley where some of his friends will be waiting for you. You will have to fight them and when you defeat them, they will tell you where the hideout is and what the correct password is - "Old sow's farrowed piglets".
2.2. (Optional) Talk with beggars about the King of Beggars.
Another way to find out where the hideout is is to talk to the beggar sitting on top of the wooden scaffolding.
He is mentally handicapped and when you talk to him twice he will tell you where the hideout is and give you the password you need to get there - "Old sow's farrowed piglets".
2.3. (Optional) Find an entrance into the sewers outside Novigrad.
The Putrid Grove can also be accessed through a tunnel the entrance to which is located near the Glory Gate.
In the tunnel, you'll come across a few drowners (10). When you kill them, take the key from the corpse lying there and use it to unlock the grate.
A little further on, you'll find a ladder to climb up and leave the sewers to the surface. You'll be stopped there by some thieves guarding the back entrance.
2.3.1. Fight the bandits guarding the back entrance.
The fight will begin. All you have to do is weaken the leader of the thieves (10) enough so that he will give up and let you enter.
3. Meet with the King of Beggars.
Get in one of the buildings. There you'll find the king of beggars - Francis Bedlam, and Triss Merigold. Bedlam will tell you a little bit about his plans and then you and Triss will leave.
4. Follow Triss.
Triss has something to take care of in town, follow her. If you handed your weapons over at the gate, then you will get them back now. Triss will take you to the house of a local smuggler named Kluhg who was supposed to get something for her. On the way, you'll talk about what brings you to Novigrad. Unfortunately, the smuggler doesn't have a package for Triss. He must have got rid of it when he came across the guards. He threw it into the water.
A couple of guards will stop in front of his house, so you decide to leave it by going through the basement.
5. Enter the basement. / Find the secret passage using your Witcher Senses, then open it.
Open the hatch in the floor and go down to the basement. You'll have to kill one drowner (10) downstairs. Press the brick on the pillar and a hidden passage will open. Don't forget to take the contents of the chests that are in the basement.
6. Follow Triss. / Find the lost parcel using your Witcher Senses. / Give Triss the parcel.
Follow Triss until you get to the place the smuggler mentioned. Dive and find the leather sack that lies on the bottom near the boat wreck.
Go back to Triss and give her the package you found.
7. Follow Triss.
Go with Triss to merchant Brandon, who hired her to clear his magazines of rats.
You can get to work immediately, request half payment before work or even request full payment before work. Brandon will agree to all this.
8. Place rat traps around the warehouse - use your Witcher Senses to guide you. 0/3
Find three places where the rat droppings are located and examine them to place rat traps there.
9. Tell Triss you've completed your task. / Talk to Triss after she activates the spell.
Go back to Triss and wait together until the rats start running away from the warehouse. You'll have some time to talk to each other about the current situation.
When the rats run away, Brandon will enter the warehouse and with him some witch hunters who want to capture Triss. Geralt won't allow it and the fight will begin.
10. Defeat the witch hunters. / Leave the warehouse.
Kill all three witch hunters (10) and then go outside and confront Brandon. He will claim that he was forced to betray the sorceress or the hunters would burn down his house. Geralt will demand that he pay Triss double and let him go.
Triss will come up with an idea who could help you in your search for Ciri. You should go and talk to Corinne Tilly, she is the oneiromancer who specialized in finding lost and missing souls.
Ever since Radovid had given the witch hunters a free hand, the persecution of mages had ascended to new heights everywhere in the North - and Novigrad was no exception. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the witch hunters set fire to freaks and mages of all kinds during gruesome public spectacles. Triss had been forced into hiding, and Geralt was forced to go to great lengths to find her. When he finally did, she was glad to see a friendly face, even one that brought back some still-painful memories.
Triss had no knowledge where Ciri might have gone, but she did know an individual who could be of help - a dreamer named Corinne Tilly.
After completing Pyres of Novigrad you will get or will be able to get Novigrad Dreaming.