Overview
Contract: The Phantom of Eldberg is a level 17 witcher contract on Ard Skellig in the Skellige Isles. The village of Arinbjorn has a ghost problem. A wraith haunts Eldberg, a bare, rocky islet whose only point of interest is its lighthouse, and the light went out the same day the phantom showed up. Without it, getting a ship into Arinbjorn harbor after dark is close to suicidal. The man who hires Geralt is Jorund, who wants the phantom gone and the missing lighthouse keeper, Mikkjal, found. The phantom turns out to be a penitent, a rare wraith that haunts people guilty of serious sins.
Getting the contract
Neither Jorund nor the notice appears until The King is Dead – Long Live the King is done. After that, talk to Jorund in the Arinbjorn tavern, read the notice on the village board, or just explore Eldberg. Beating Madman Lugos in a fistfight during that quest also brings it up. When you enter the tavern, two locals named Kori and Kraki make it clear they don’t like outsiders, until Jorund chases them off and invites you to his table.
Timing matters: starting this contract between The King is Dead and King’s Gambit is what unlocks Stranger in a Strange Land and later An Unpaid Debt.
The investigation
- Take a boat from Arinbjorn’s port and land at the harbor on Eldberg’s southern tip. Coming from the lighthouse end, you will likely miss the bodies.
- Follow the path past wraiths, examining two bodies along the way, and knock on the hut where Mikkjal is hiding. He tells you about a large wraith and gives you the lighthouse key.
- At the lighthouse, examine the markings on the tower. They reveal a curse, and Geralt identifies the big wraith as a penitent.
- Unlock the lighthouse now, before going back to Mikkjal, or the key is taken away and the door stays shut. Climb to the first landing and read the letter there. It shows Mikkjal left out a few important details.
- Return to Mikkjal. Only he can light the fire that breaks the curse, so you have to protect him while he does.
Fighting the penitent
You can hurt the penitent before the fire is lit, but you can’t kill it, so the first part is about staying alive. Geralt says when the fire is burning. It summons up to four wraiths at a time, sturdier than the ones nightwraiths and noonwraiths bring along, and it likes to blink in behind you. Use specter oil, keep Yrden down, throw Moon Dust, and bring Reliever’s or Griffin decoctions for the long haul. Full tactics on our Phantom of Eldberg page.
Choices and outcomes
If you read the letter, you learn that Mikkjal was working with pirates, luring ships onto the rocks and looting the wrecks. That is what drew the penitent. After the fight you can let it slide or tell him to leave. If you never found the letter, Geralt simply admits he doesn’t know what brought the spirit, which is not what he was being paid for anyway.
Back in Arinbjorn, if King’s Gambit is still open, Kori and Kraki start a brawl on your way out. Jorund dies and Geralt ends up in a cell, which kicks off Stranger in a Strange Land. If King’s Gambit is already finished, nothing happens.
Rewards
- XP: 310 in total (25 for finding Mikkjal, 25 for the lighthouse, 260 from Jorund).
- Crowns: 184 from Jorund.
- Loot: the sword Ashrune and a wraith trophy.
Afterwards the wraiths are gone for good, and a water hag moves into the island’s harbor.
