The Scent of Incense

The Scent of Incense is a side quest in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, set in Chapter 1 in Flotsam. A scholar at the harbor says a local shopkeeper sells incense that gives off poisonous smoke, and he pays Geralt to obtain its recipe as proof.

Geralt can hand over the real recipe, pass off a false one, or keep it for himself. The scholar is not who he claims: he is a fisstech dealer linked to the remnants of Salamandra, an organization Geralt fought in the past.

Depending on Geralt’s choices, the quest ends with a payment, an ambush in the forest, or a fight at the dealers’ hideout. It fails if Geralt leaves Chapter 1 before finishing.

Walkthrough

Talk to the scholar at the harbor and agree to find the incense recipe.
Get the recipe for the poisonous incense.
Bring the real or a false recipe to the scholar, or decide not to hand it over.
If you keep the recipe, defeat the scholar and his men when they ambush you.
If you hand it over, meet the scholar at the town square gate.
Go to the laboratory, either demanding its location or agreeing to be blindfolded.
Defeat the assailants if the deal turns into a fight.

Quest Consequences & Choices

Refusing to hand over the recipe leads to an attack by the scholar, whom Geralt kills.

Giving a fake recipe makes the employer attack once he notices. Agreeing to be blindfolded leads Geralt into a trap at the hideout, where he kills the dealers.

Delivering the real recipe and insisting on knowing the laboratory’s location ends peacefully: Geralt is paid, having supplied a fisstech recipe.