The Nilfgaardian Connection Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Quest
Suggested level: 5
Group: Main Quests
Location: Velen
This quest will start automatically when Geralt retrieves his equipment back from the chamberlain at the end of the Imperial Audience quest.
Geralt traveled to Velen in search of Ciri, an act that attested to the depth of his devotion. Only a man who has been to this land can know just how vile it is. At this time it was commonly known as No Man's Land. Why? Well, the emperor of Nilfgaard had not yet claimed it, Temeria was in disarray, and the Redanians had already retreated north. No Man had been left in charge, and he had proved a terrible ruler.
Geralt needed to find Hendrik, an imperial agent who had been working on Ciri's case, and to collect from him what information he had managed to gather.
Related points of interest
Hanged Man's Tree
Velen / Novigrad
Inn at the Crossroads
Velen / Novigrad
Heatherton
Velen / Novigrad
Prior quests
To begin The Nilfgaardian Connection you must first complete Imperial Audience.
Quest stages of The Nilfgaardian Connection
1. Travel to Velen.
Approach one of the doors that serves as a signpost and use the fast-travel option to set out on your way to Velen.
After a few days of travel you will arrive at the Hanged Man's Tree signpost.
2. Go to the Inn at the Crossroads. / Ask about the agent called Hendrik at the Inn at the Crossroads.
Go to the Inn at the Crossroads and get inside. Talk to the innkeeper and ask him about Hendrik. Your conversation will be interrupted by the arrival of the Baron's men at the inn who are apparently looking for trouble.
If you want to end this without bloodshed, it's best to tell them that you're a witcher and they'll leave you alone. You can also offer them a drink (Care for a drink? > Heading to Novigrad > Cheers).
Note: If you get out of this situation without bloodshed, then a little later, in the Bloody Baron quest it will be much easier for you to get to the Baron's castle. The guards watching the gate will simply let you in. If you kill the baron's men in the inn, then you'll have to find an alternative road up to the castle courtyard.
3. (Optional) Defeat the baron's men.
If you make them angry in any way, you'll have to kill them. When you kill them, the innkeeper will tell you where you should go to find Hendrik and suggest that you leave the inn through the back exit. In this way you will avoid fighting with another baron's men waiting outside, in front of the main entrance to the inn.
4. Finish talking to the innkeep about the agent called Hendrik.
If you have solved the problem in a peaceful way, approach the innkeeper and talk to him again and he will tell you where you should go to find Hendrik.
5. Look for the agent called Hendrik in the village of Heatherton.
Go to the village of Heatherton. When you get there, you should find a man there who is attacked by rabid dogs. Kill the dogs to save the man.
6. Talk to the survivor and learn what happened in the village.
The man will tell you about the events that took place the previous night, when the Wild Hunt came to the village, and will show you the house where Hendrik lived.
7. Find the agent called Hendrik.
Go to Hendrik's house and you'll find his corpse in the first room. Examine his boots and you'll find a key.
8. Search the agent's hut using your Witcher Senses.
Check the animal skin rug in the other room and you'll find the entrance to the cellar below.
Go down and examine the candlestick on one of the walls.
This will open a secret compartment where you will find Hendrik's notes. Read them and you will find out what Hendrik has learned about Ciri. This quest will end and you will receive two new ones.
Yet it turned out Hendrik was no longer among the living - the Wild Hunt had murdered him. The spectral riders were also searching for Ciri and had beaten Geralt to the punch. The witcher only managed to obtain a few perfunctory notes about his ward, though thankfully these contained some scraps of valuable information. It seemed Ciri had been a guest of the Bloody Baron, the self-proclaimed ruler of Velen, and that she had quarreled with some witch, presumably the one living near the village of Midcopse.
After completing The Nilfgaardian Connection you will get or will be able to get Bloody Baron and Hunting a Witch.