The Calm Before the Storm is a Skellige main quest that plays out as Ciri’s story, told by the reanimated Skjall in Nameless. Ciri appeared out of thin air on Hindarsfjall, wounded and exhausted after a narrow escape, carried by a mysterious masked companion who left her in Skjall’s care. He took her home to Lofoten, where his family looked after her.
For the first time in a very long while, Ciri gets to rest, and the player gets to see her enjoy simple things in a warm, quiet village. It does not last. The sky darkens, puddles freeze over, and the Wild Hunt rides towards Lofoten. Ciri knows she is in no shape to fight them. Skjall decides to help her, risking his life and his honour, while the player guides Ciri through the attack and fights off hounds and riders of the Hunt.
Ciri escapes to Drowned Dead Rock, where she meets her masked companion again. Skjall sees the two argue, and the stranger ends the quarrel by putting Ciri to sleep with a spell. They leave together by boat, and that is the last Skjall saw of her.