The King is Dead – Long Live the King is Geralt’s grand entrance into Skellige politics in The Witcher 3. King Bran is dead, the jarls are drinking to his memory at Kaer Trolde, and Yennefer has a plan that involves sneaking out of the wake and robbing a druid. It is also one of the most memorable Geralt and Yennefer moments in the game.
How to start The King is Dead – Long Live the King
The quest follows Destination: Skellige. It is a level 16 quest worth 600 XP.
Dress to impress
First, Yennefer wants Geralt to look presentable. Change into the clothes in the chest in her room at Kaer Trolde harbor. She approves of the black and gold Elegant Skellige shirt with the matching breeches, or the outfit from Vizima. Gloves, or taking the clothes off and on again, can earn a disappointed comment.
The wake
At the feast, Geralt shares a table with Cerys an Craite and the jarls’ sons. Cerys challenges him to a race to the top of the mountain, where the first to pull Hjalmar’s axe out of a stump wins. Later, Madman Lugos insults Yennefer, and Geralt can teach him a lesson with his fists. Be careful: Lugos is level 30. Mingle with the guests if you like, for a feel of the clans and their rivalries.
Ermion’s workshop
Yennefer’s plan is to break into the workshop of the druid Ermion, better known as Mousesack, and borrow the Mask of Uroboros. They climb in through a window into a trophy room full of stuffed animals. Geralt cuts himself on the door, starts hallucinating and the animals come to life. They hit softly, but they can still kill you. In the lab, a statue holds out its hand: give it the cup of mead (the other items do nothing) to open a secret door. The mask is guarded by an earth elemental.
A quick escape
Poisonous gas fills the room, and Yennefer has to teleport them out on the spot, asking Geralt to think of somewhere. Your answer decides where they land: back at the feast, in Yennefer’s room, or in Yennefer’s room for a famous scene on a stuffed unicorn. Afterwards, Crach an Craite agrees to help with Ermion and asks Geralt to keep an eye on his children, which starts Possession and The Lord of Undvik.
Tips
- The race against Cerys is easier now that sprinting outside combat no longer drains stamina (patch 4.0). Earlier, a Werewolf decoction helped.
- Talk to all four jarls (Crach, Lugos, Donar and Holger Blackhand) before leaving the feast for an extra 100 XP.
- Wandering off when walking with Yennefer to the citadel fails an objective.
