Wandering in the Dark is a long dungeon quest in The Witcher 3 where Geralt and Keira Metz explore the elven ruins in southwest Velen. They are looking for the masked elven mage who asked Keira about Ciri, but the Wild Hunt is on the same trail, and it got there first.
How to start Wandering in the Dark
The quest follows Hunting a Witch. Either travel with Keira right away or meet her at the ruins later. It is a level 6 quest worth about 1,000 XP in total. There are a few points of no return inside, so bring repair kits, potions, oils and bombs before you go in.
Swallows, kelpies and a botched portal
Just inside the ruins, Geralt spots Wild Hunt riders on the far side of the cavern. Keira tries to open a portal to catch up, but something in the ruins distorts her magic and the two are separated. Geralt finds her again surrounded by rats, which she is not a fan of. Destroy the rat nests with Igni or bombs and talk her into staying.
The elf left magical projections of himself, and the clues point to Ciri: Geralt knows her sword is called Zireael, the elven word for swallow, so the trail follows swallow symbols. Later, a projection mentions Kelpie, Ciri’s horse, and the next symbol is hidden in a flooded pool. The ruins are guarded by wraiths in a cavern full of poisonous mushrooms (blow the clouds away with Aard or ignite them with Igni), a golem behind a portal and, optionally, a gargoyle.
The White Frost and Nithral
The pair catch up with the Hunt just as its navigator opens three portals to the White Frost. Keira shields Geralt while she closes them one by one, and Geralt has to keep the Wild Hunt hounds off her. Right after, Geralt faces Nithral, a Wild Hunt warrior with a huge two-handed weapon. Once that fight starts, there is no way out until he is dead.
What the elf left behind
In the elf’s abandoned laboratory, a final projection warns Ciri to stay away from the witches of Crookback Bog. Keira gives Geralt the Eye of Nehaleni, an artifact that dispels illusions, and asks him to help her find a magic lamp the elf promised her. That is the side quest Magic Lamp. The main story continues in Ladies of the Wood.
Tips
- The ruins are full of chests with random diagrams. Early on, you can pick up well over a dozen alchemy and crafting recipes here.
- Elementa oil, dimeritium bombs and Quen work well on the golem and the gargoyle.
- Against Nithral: Quen, quick attacks between his slow swings, and Thunderbolt plus Swallow. When he summons hounds and heals inside a bubble, kill the hounds instead of hitting him, or you take heavy damage.
- When Keira nearly faints after closing the portals, answer “Just don’t faint on me” if you want to keep the romance with her open.
- Behind the illusion you can dispel with the Eye of Nehaleni, a chest holds the Maugrim sword. A foglet appears when you open it.
