Iorveth's Path -- Act II: Hunting Magic

Iorveth's Path -- Act II: Hunting Magic

Now we set the active quest to Hunting Magic and we can visit Phillipa's house without having to worry about the visit failing the quest that we just finished...  When we arrive we witness her apprentice giving her a backrub and have an uncomfortable conversation about that, and then work our way through the available chat options.  We learn a little and Phillipa tells us to talk to the townsfolk to learn about the places of magical power.  Excellent!

Among the options that you had to chat with her about you flag some more quests -- one of which you have already completed, the Death one -- and when you ask about Triss it leads to an encounter with the locals who have formed a lynch mob!

-- Royal Blood --

The intervention we need to perform is the result of the quest Royal Blood being advanced -- immediately head to the palace and trigger a CS in which Dandelion and your mates appear.  Iorveth shows up and you listen as the people make their complaint...  Iorveth has a plan, and tells you to question everyone you think might know something.

Dealing with the treachery of Stennis

Speak to the different groups here to flag the quests The Walls have Ears, and then you get a confrontational CS in which each side makes its case.  You contribute what you know, the crowd listens, and then the argument continues.  Basically they want you to take a side -- the thing is that allowing them to kill Stennis actually helps you, since you are able to get his blood for the cure.  If you protect him you will later learn he actually was behind the poisoning, so there you go, killing him is justified...  So let them tear him apart :)

You collect the blood sample after the peasants kill Stennis, and then you chat with Iorveth for a bit, before and that completes the quest Royal Blood.  Now let us revert to the quest Hunting Magic.

-- Back on Hunting Magic --

Note that while we are doing this quest we will also be wrapping up the Harpy Hunting Quest as well.

A few of the people we should speak with are the Inn Keeper and the Alderman Cecil, both of whom have interesting information for you on the subject. 

When you talk to Cecil you can learn a lot more about the past than just where the magic is -- exhaust the chat options, and then head for the stairs by the outer gate so that we can return to the north woods.  When you cross the river head towards the marker and we will enter the area -- which also happens to be the Harpy Lair!  So before we go hunting for the artifact now would be a good time to change the active quest to the Harpy Hunting one, and lay some traps!

This is a great area to hunt for Herbs in, but eventually you will grow tired of that and want to proceed to the Harpy Lair, so head back towards the entrance and the river and take the path up the hill to the left, following it around until you reach a point where you need to jump across.  Jump, battle the Harpies, then jump again, and you will find yourself battling a second and much larger group of Harpies. 

Head into the ruins now and you will find a Crystal there -- take that and you advance the quest Hunting Magic!  Now return to Phillipa's house and find her beating on her girlfriend -- yeah...  I don't want to know...  Note that before you can do that you are forced to advance the quest Where is Triss Merigold -- you have no choice but to let that play out, but when it does talk to her again and choose to tell her you found the magic crystal. 

Give the object to her, and she tells gives some new information and then you will learn that the object you found simply is not powerful enough!  Darn!  But do not lose hope, as she has a plan...  After she shows you Cecil's dream on your way out be sure to talk to her girlfriend -- who you are supposed to ask about the Wild Hunt;   she is seeking the notes you already have -- and the conversation continues.

Work your way through the chat options to exchange information with her, and you will learn a few things you did not know about the Hunt.  You learn one idea for why the Wraiths abduct the young, and you learn that contrary to what she said to you, Phillipa does have an opinion about the Hunt...

Did you get lost trying to find her house?  I always get lost trying to find that part of town... Odd.  I always forget that you need to go through the orange door...

Killing the dream-stealing Queen of the Harpies

-- Onwards to the Quarry of the Harpies --

You need to seek out Cecil and convince him to give you access to the quarry that is infested with Harpies -- this is by the way where you will want to use your Harpy Traps mates -- but when you ask him he refuses to open the gate for you.  He explains that his grandfather locked the gate for a reason -- the dreams that are stored therein.  He has a solid reason for refusing to do it -- but you persist -- and you have no choice but to use what you know about him from his dream that you found.  Blackmail it seems is not above you, and his reaction suggests that the dream is true, because he agrees to open the gate for you. 

Geralt agrees to bury the dream, and you advance the quest Hunt for Magic and flag a new related quest, The Queen Harpy Contract.  Excellent!

-- Into the Quarry of the Harpies --

Head to the marker on the map at the bottom of the first quarry and you will find that you can go through the gate to the inner quarry where you will now place traps to complete the trapping of the Harpies and the first Harpy quest.

With the final trap sprung you work your way through and trigger a CS of one of the Harpies placing a crystal -- and that triggers a CS of the moon and events you are not supposed to know about!  A dream of one of the Kingslayer's men.  You witness the events in the dream that is really a memory and it tells you something you did not know -- and advances the quest Assassins of Kings.

After the dream ends take the crystal and the Queen and her mates will attack you.  DO NOT allow yourself to be surrounded here or you could easily die.  Try to keep your back to a wall and fight them one at a time if you can, and eventually you will beat them all.  Loot them and then use the projector to view the dreams you have collected -- you already saw Letho's dream so you can skip that one.  Instead place the Blue Crystal into the projector and you will see one of Iorveth's dreams.  Since I don't speak elven I have no idea what was being said -- but that is ok.  We need to search the area for additional crystals now.

A red crystal is nearby and it contains a dream belonging to the Dragon we fought in the Prologue -- small world this.  The green crystal contains the dream of a Peasant, and the silver crystal contains the dream of Baltimore's Dream.  This flags the quest Baltimore's Nightmare, and completes the quest Hunting Magic and scores us a level-up!  Sweet! 

-- Wrapping up some Loose Ends --

Now there are more than a few loose ends for us to wrap up, so let us begin that progress before we are trapped in the main story and have to progress, shall we?

First, flag the new quest Baltimore's Nightmare and head back to Vergen -- when you reach the right area (it is near the Alderman's house) you will know it because you will trigger a brief CS.  Talk to the Dwarves by the forge and ask if he made a goblet?  Talk to him again and ask about Baltimore, then ask how he vanished? 

Head to the workshop and look around and you will find a weak wall -- blow it down and take the key and directions from the chest.  As you are leaving the runesmith stops to ask if you found anything?  Tell him that you did not find anything...  There is something suspicious about him and after the conversation you update the quest Suspect Thorak!

Read the direction to learn what they say, and then while you are here head to the Alderman's house.

-- Turning in some quests -- head to the Alderman's house and chat with Cecil, tell him that you killed the Harpy Queen, and you get your reward.  Tell him that you destroyed the Harpy Nests, and you get another reward.

-- With that bit of mischief managed, it is time to follow the directions that Baltimore left -- so head to the main gates and then to the burned village, where you will find an old well...  From there head down the path to where it splits and you will see a large stone arch to the left, and as you follow that path you come to a place where the road forks at a statue.

First go straight into the quarry and you will find rocks with runes carved in them that your amulet detects as you work your way along until at the end of the trail you find a small path leading up and at the end you search and find a clue -- the key -- that advances the quest!

Discovering Baltimore's Secret Lair

Now backtrack to the fork and the wooden statue and follow the right-hand path (left coming out of the quarry) to the shipwreck.  Here you will need to meditate until noon and you will see that the shadow of the stump of a mast points to a thick stand of bushes, behind which is a concealed door to another workshop!

Inside you will a sword and some runes, and then Thorak shows up to confront you!  They attack and you have no choice but to defend yourself and kill them, and when you loot their bodies you find a clue that advances the quest Suspect: Thorak and Balitmore's Nightmare. 

Now head back to Vergen but before you visit with the Alderman to report this, go up the slope to Baltimore's old place (now Thorak's old place heh) and search it for the chest that the key you found on his body fits into.  Inside you will find an important clue that relates to the poisoning of Saskia...  This completes the quest Suspect: Thorak, so head across the street to the Alderman's house and talk to him, showing him Baltimore's notes and that completes the quest Baltimore's Nightmare!  Good on ya!  Note that this fails the quest The Walls Have Ears (it is a deal where you do one or the other and not both).

That wraps up all of the side-quests and extra stuff and puts us squarely back on the main story path, so it is time to resume the quest Where is Triss Merigold?