Pyres of Novigrad

Pyres of Novigrad is the main quest that opens Novigrad in The Witcher 3, and it does not exactly roll out the welcome mat. The biggest city in the North has become a dangerous place for anyone with magic in their blood: the Church of the Eternal Fire burns mages in the main square, and Triss Merigold, the one person who might help Geralt find Ciri, is in hiding.

How to start Pyres of Novigrad

The quest is added to your journal after Imperial Audience, when Yennefer suggests looking up Triss. It is a level 10 quest worth 200 XP. Head to Hierarch Square in Novigrad to begin.

A warm welcome from the witch hunters

In Hierarch Square, Geralt watches Caleb Menge, commander of the Temple Guard and leader of the witch hunters, burn a sorceress and a doppler at the stake. At Triss’s house, Geralt finds two looters, who think she may have fled to the King of Beggars in a place called Putrid Grove. Menge turns up, arrests them and makes it very clear that he would love an excuse to put a witcher on the pyre too.

Three ways into Putrid Grove

Nobody knows exactly where the grove is, so Geralt has to find it. You can follow a pickpocket from the square all the way to the hideout, ask the right beggar (the one on the scaffolding near the dwarven banker Vimme Vivaldi, who also gives you the password “Old sow…”), or sneak in through the sewers near Glory Gate. The sewer route works, but it earns no XP.

Triss and the rat job

Inside, Triss is talking business with Francis Bedlam, the King of Beggars. She agrees to help with Ciri, but first she needs a hand with an errand. A smuggler has dropped her package into the canal, so Geralt has to fish it out through a secret passage in a cellar. Then comes her actual job: getting rid of rats in a warehouse by the Fish Market. Place three incense burners, let Triss work her spell, and enjoy a quiet talk with her. It does not stay quiet. The warehouse owner, Brandon, has sold them out to the witch hunters.

After the fight, Triss points Geralt to Corinne Tilly, an oneiromancer who might be able to help, which leads to Novigrad Dreaming.

Tips

Look around Triss’s house before you leave. The Rose of Remembrance lies on the bedside table, and one of the chests outside can hold random diagrams.
If you do not know the password, you can pay 50 crowns and hand over your weapons, or use Axii (Delusion level 2) and keep them.
How much you ask Brandon for up front changes a few lines of dialogue, but he betrays you either way.
Quests unlocked here include Suspicious Shakedown and The Nobleman Statuette.

Walkthrough

Go to Hierarch Square and watch the burning led by Caleb Menge.
Head south into the courtyard to Triss’s house and talk to the looters. Caleb Menge interrupts.
Optional: search the house (herbs, hairbrush, amulets, clothes) and take the Rose of Remembrance from the bedside table.
Find Putrid Grove: follow a pickpocket from the square, ask the beggar on the scaffolding near Vimme Vivaldi for the location and password, or take the sewers near Glory Gate (kill the drowners, take the key from the body, then beat the lead thief).
At the door, give the password, pay 50 crowns or use Axii (100 XP for entering, except via the sewers).
Talk to Francis Bedlam and Triss, then follow Triss to the smuggler Kluhg.
Go down into the cellar, kill the drowner and use your witcher senses on the central pillar to open the secret passage.
Follow the canal and dive for the leather sack near the last bridge before the harbor. Give it to Triss.
Follow Triss to Brandon’s warehouse by the Fish Market and agree on payment.
Place the three incense burners with your witcher senses and talk to Triss after her spell.
Kill the witch hunters Brandon brings, then confront him outside.
Talk to Triss, who sends you to Corinne Tilly (200 XP).

Quest Consequences & Choices

There are no major choices. How you get into Putrid Grove only changes XP and whether you keep your weapons. Asking Brandon for payment up front changes some dialogue. The quest leads to Novigrad Dreaming and unlocks Suspicious Shakedown and The Nobleman Statuette.