Ignoring Alvin and Aiding Elves¶

Now return to Alina’s House and talk to the silly girl. Tell her that she has nothing to be worried about as far as Julian-Celina go and Alina will try to play it cool. Ask about Alvin and she’ll tell you where to look for him, which varies depending on whether Triss or Shani was your favored lover in the previous chapter. If it was Triss, she’ll tell you to seek Alvin out in some ruins near the village. If it was Shani he’ll be near the riverbank. Why? If you left him with Shani, he’ll have developed a taste for rivers-which he picked up due to his proximity to the Dike. If you left him with Triss he’ll enjoy ruins because… he arbitarily decided he likes ruins and wants to be an explorer? Ah, kids.

Now the logical thing to do would be to go hunt for Alvin, but this guide isn’t about being logical-it’s about completionism. Since advancing the quest “Alvin” causes other quests to advance, lets clear out some side-quests while everything is calm. Calmish. First, let’s

go help those poor, impoverished Elves. Return to the Elven Cave and give Toruviel her bread. If you’re cheap and only give her four loaves for her money you’ll lose out 1000 experience… and the difference in one loaf of bread really makes a difference on her disposition towards humanity.

Next talk to the Elven Craftsman, who will tell you more about Raven’s armor-more specifically, its enchantments. The armor won’t just need reforging, apparently it’ll also need re-enchanting… although the thought of singing armor… just sounds annoying. Anyways, you’re told to go find another tomb. Apparently we’ll need to scavenge everything if we’re to recreate this armor.

Finally, talk to the “Elven Woman” walking around and give her some food. She’ll abuse you for your charity, even as Geralt attempts to be reasonable. When all is said and done, you’ll end up with the “Elves of Murky Waters” Sex Card … Must be her way of saying “thanks” without having to actually say it. You can also feed other Elves in the cave to learn about Mandrake Roots and Han Fibre-just keep in mind that they want meat (and fish apparently doesn’t count). If you don’t want to spend any money, Wyvern Meat will do the trick nicely.

The Lady of the Lake¶

It’s finally time to head to Black Tern Island. Go near the Fisher King’s Hut and find his boat, which you can now take, if you asked for permission. From the small island you arrive at, head across some shallows to the north and dispatch a group of Drowners- Zephyr’s island- bound buddies.

Continue north until you find the Lady of the Lake. Yeah, it’s terribly cliche to all of us of English-descent, but hey, in Poland it might be novel. Talk to her and, surprise, she knows who you are. Apparently a mermaid has been talking to other aquatic ladies about us… Ask about restoring your memory, and she’ll ask if you believe in destiny… answer in whatever way best suits your Geralt and it’ll update the quest “Identity” again.

If you ask about her extinct knights, she’ll tell you about the legend of the Holy Grail, and refer you to a hermit, who can tell you more. Tell her she looks pensive and she’ll ask you to speak to Berengar-allowing us to progress the quest “The Paths of Destiny” . Finally, ask if you can do anything for her, and she’ll tell you to reconcile the humans of Murky Waters and the Vodyanoi, which updates the quest “Ripples” . You can now advance this quest along the neutral path of reconciliation, but Julian will still insist that he’s too busy with wedding preparations to persue the matter.

Battling Basilisks, and More Business with Berengar¶

While we’re here, head south-west from the Lady of the Lake to find a pack of Basilisks guarding a “Circle of the Last Drop” and two trunks. The one to the north contains a Moon Rune and 64 Orens, while the one to the south contains some Candy, two units of Stammelford’s Dust, some Nilfgaardian Lemon, and 16 Orens. Best of all, search the Basilisks to get their hide, which will make Julian a happy man, and us richer… and hence happier. Explore the eastern side of the island to find Wyverns and Royal Wyverns, the latter of which will drop us the Wyvern Eggs the Innkeeper wants. Now return to the mainland so we can wrap up some business with Berengar real quick.

Head south along the road towards Murky Waters, but stop along the way to talk to Berengar, like the nice, wet, naked lady told us to. Tell him about the Lady of the Lake, and Berengar will respond by allowing us to take the whole destiny thing and play hero. Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. He’ll also reveal that he was full of shit earlier-he sold Witcher secrets to Salamandra willingly.

Return to the Lady of the Lake and tell her about Berengar’s response, and she’ll state the obvious-that her vision pertained to you, and she’ll promise to aid you, in time. Now is a great time to complete whatever contracts you may have unfulfilled and turn them in. When you’re done, we’ll have little else to do but to go find Alvin, where ever he may be. It varies depending on whether you sided with Triss or Shani in the past chapter, and it will be noted in the “Aiding Alvin… Again” heading.

Aiding Alvin… Again (Trrss)¶

You’ll find Alvin near some ruins along the southern edge of the map, in between the “Collapsed Bridge” and the “Passage to Fields”. In this case, he’ll be accompanied by a “Gambling Ghost”, a lonely spirit Alvin conjured.

This spirit professes to be harmless-he only wants somebody to play dice with. On that note, he offers to play dice over Alvin-winner takes the boy. You should definately play him if you need to get another Sharper player under your belt, because-as unlikely as it is-the Gambling Ghost is our third Sharper in this chapter.

If you win, the Gambling Ghost goes away. What an honorable ghost! If you lose… well, Geralt obviously can’t afford to capitulate-a fight ensues. If you kill the Gambling Ghost, he’ll drop 200 Orens and a Diamond… he’ll also stop respawning, and hence, playing poker. There’s also a pretty juicy basket outside the ruins with a variety of goodies inside.

Aiding Alvin… Again (Shani)¶

From Alina’s House head south out a gate, and proceed along the riverbank, where you’ll find Alvin and… his dog.. precariously close to where the third group of Zephyr’s Drowners are. All is fine, however, because as you approach a Devourer will show up and attack Alvin… but the Drowners will safely excuse themselves. Slay the Devourer and Alvin will talk to you.

Doubts and Drowners¶

No matter who you sided with last chapter, Geralt will berate himself for trying to be what he’s not. A Witcher can’t be a father, and to even try isn’t fair to Shani/Triss and Alvin. Alvin will freak out and start mumbling in his Elven prophecy voice. He’ll eventually calm down, however, and Geralt hands off the Dimeritium Necklace, for what good it will do. When Geralt was trying to foist Alvin off onto Alina and Julian, Alvin mentioned a dream he had-one that did note bode well for Alina. Geralt advises himself in his journal that he should warn Julian-and so I advise you to do the same. But first..

Since we’re up here and all, we might as well head to the river and deal with the third pack of Zephyr’s Drowners. If you sided with Shani last chapter, the Drowners will have vanished, so as to not complicate your cutscenes with Alvin. Head back to Alina’s House (any area transition will do) and return to the riverbank to get them to respawn. Kill the last group of Drowners (one Igni should do the trick) and Zephyr will show himself. He’s pretty tough-for a Drowner-and that just means he’ll take a few hits before dying. Kill him and loot him. He’ll drop random Drowner bits, a Silk Scarf, a Silver Ring, and a Turquiose Necklace.

Answering Alvin¶

Now for some notes on Alvin. Since we’ve progressed the quest “Alvin” to this point, the annoying little brat will start bothering us when we venture into the Lakeside and the Fields. At this phase, he’ll ask about becoming a Witcher. In response, Geralt has the following options:

“We never get sick, but that costs us. And then there’s pain… Would you like to hurt badly?”

“It’s not true that witchers are never afraid. Besides, none remain who can complete the mutation…”

“Wouldn’t you rather be a knight?”

The only reason this is noteworthy is because it updates the quest “Alvin” and influences his viewpoints later on. The Scoia’tael Geralt picks option #1, the neutral Geralt picks option #2, and the Order Geralt picks option #3. He’ll also bug you on subesequent visits-complaining about his dreams of Alina, and then by just being a clingy pest. You can also bug Berengar, who will talk a bit more. He confirms what we already know-that Salamandra wants Alvin, and that Berengar was sent here to get him. He states that he has no intention of taking Alvin, that he just wants enough Orens to get out of here.