Battling the Beast Walkthrough
Return to the tavern to find that Vesemir has decided to play outside. He also seems to have cleaned up his armor (and presumably mended his wound) while we were out busy doing ALL THE WORK. Ahem. Tell him about the Griffin contract, and he’ll show off his perceptivness. Tell him you have both the Buckthorn and the information and, after Vesemir makes fun of you and amateur monster hunters both, he’ll say he’s ready to go. Pick the dialogue option “Time to set the trap” and Vesemir will tell you about an ambush location he picked out-maybe the old man has been busy after all? He’ll give you the formula for the Thunderbolt potion then run off to the ambush location.
| Objective | Reward |
|---|---|
| For telling Vesemir you’re ready to hunt the Griffin | Formula: Thunderbolt |
Now is as fine a time as any to prepare potions, if you think you’ll need them. With a level three Witcher and an upgraded Viper Silver Sword, however, we should be fine. Head over to where Vesemir went (north of the island east of White Orchard) and talk to him. Tell him you’re ready and Vesemir will apply the Buckthorn bait to a sheep decoy, and the two Witchers will settle down in the brush to chat while they wait.
The Griffin will show up eventually, and the two Witchers will move to attack. Before things get violent, however, Vesemir hands you a crossbow he won in a card game, which might just come in handy. Chastise Vesemir about his gambling and he’ll change the subject… after all, we do have a Griffin to kill.
Despite what Vesemir says about the crossbow, it’s really not of much use. Keep an eye on the beast when it flies, and if it comes down to attack, simply dodge out of the way. It’ll land to melee you once in a while, which is when you’ll be able to damage it. Keep the Quen Sign up to deflect hits, and dodge its attacks until it flies off. Summon Roach and chase the critter up to near the mill and finish it off. It’s a little more aggressive now that it’s been injured, but Quen and a Silver Sword are just too much for it. Once it’s dead, Vesemir will lecture you on your swordsmanship. Yeah, yeah… when he leaves, cut yourself off a trophy. The Nilfgaardians should be pleased. From the Griffin’s corpse you’ll score a Griffin Trophy and a Griffin Mutagen, amongst other things.
Return to the Nilfgaardin Garrison where you’ll see the normally flexible commander punish a peasant for delivering the grain he was ordered to bring earlier. Unfortunatley for the peasant, he brought rotten stores. You can give the officer a hard time, for what that’s worth. Tell him you’ve killed the Griffin, and he’ll tell you that Yennefer was, in fact, close by the whole time, in the capital city of Vizima-a place Geralt knows well. Geralt will get pissy about not being told how close Yennefer was, and as he turns to leave the commander will call out to him and offer fair payment for his services. Take the money or not, as you wish.
| Objective | Reward |
|---|---|
| For taking the payment | 300 XP 150 Crowns |
| For turning down the reward | 500 XP |
We should now be done with White Orchard. You still have time, however, to finish up any quests you wish. When you’re ready to leave return to the tavern to collect old man Vesemir. Vesemir smells trouble brewing-drunken patriots nearby just waiting for something to trigger them. That trigger occurs when a patron asks the innkeeper what happened to the lillies. The situation escalates into an argument between the innkeeper and her patron. Vesemir, despite his own advice, interferes when things turn violent, and despite his warnings, a fight breaks out. Slaughter your assailants, then leave the tavern.
Once outside, Geralt and Vesemir will be confronted by Nilfgaardians. Fortunately, they also have Yennefer in tow. Seems like we could have just sat around and waited for her. Oh well. Yennefer promises us an explanation… once we reach Vizima. It’s not just Yennefer who wants to talk to you in Vizima, however-Emhyr var Emreis, the Emperor of Nilfgaard himself awaits us. Vesemir and Geralt will say their farwells, and Geralt will head off to Vizima, with Yennefer and an escort of Nilfgaardians.
| Objective | Reward |
|---|---|
| For reuniting with Yennefer | 300 XP |