Putrid Grove

Putrid Grove is a hidden enclave in Novigrad‘s Lacehalls district, the same rough quarter as Crippled Kate’s. Behind a guarded gate lies a cramped yard of ramshackle shacks and makeshift shelters, smoke from open fires and a crowd of beggars, thieves and people the rest of the city would rather not see. It is the home turf of Francis Bedlam, the King of Beggars, and the headquarters of his gang, the Blindeyes. In a city where the Temple Guard burns mages on public pyres, it is also one of the few places where magic users can still find shelter. Bedlam himself calls it the last bastion of sanity in Novigrad, and if it were up to him the place would be called the Garden of Liberty.

In The Witcher 3

Geralt first hears of the grove from looters at Triss’s ransacked house, who reckon that Triss fled to the King of Beggars for help. They have no idea where to find it, and before Geralt can ask more, Caleb Menge turns up and makes it very clear that witchers are not welcome in his city.

There are three ways in. Geralt can tail a pickpocket through the streets until he hands off his loot and leads the way. He can ask the right beggar, the one on the wooden scaffolding near Vimme Vivaldi‘s bank, who eventually gives up both the location and the password (“Old sow…”). Or he can sneak in through the back door: the sewers under the bridge by Glory Gate, past a few drowners and through a locked grate the thieves would rather nobody knew about. At the gate the porter wants the password, or 50 crowns and your weapons, unless a little Axii changes his mind.

Inside, Geralt finds Triss doing business with Francis Bedlam, who shares some grand plans for the city before letting them go. Triss agrees to help find Ciri, but first needs a favor of her own, and the hunt through Novigrad’s underworld begins.

The grove matters again later. During Get Junior, Geralt finds Bedlam’s beaten halfling spy, Rico Meiersdorf, in Junior’s casino. Let him go and the King of Beggars pays his debt in Honor Among Thieves, with Freya’s Warriors’ armor and the sword Eirlithrad. A merchant in the grove also sells alchemy ingredients and crafting components, and plays gwent with a Monsters deck.

Quests in Putrid Grove

Good to know

Entering through the front gate earns 100 XP. The sewer route gives none, and the thieves inside will attack until you beat their leader.
Only the beggar on the scaffolding tells you the way. The others take your money and keep quiet.
Lacehalls sits inside the Glory Lane area and borders Harborside.