To the Temple
As this leg of the journey begins, Vernon Roche separates from the party and leaves you alone with the king. Now you have a choice about how you answer. Choose whatever you like. One way or another, you'll be leaving the king behind as you explore the immediate vicinity at his request.
Your job now is to find a back entrance to the temple. You will find that when you find a well, but before you worry about the well you should tend to the next step of the Melitele's Heart side quest. The Woe to the Vanquished side quest can also be accessed in this area. For more information about those quests, see the appropriate portions of this walkthrough.
|(LEFT) 'Leave the king at the gate while you head down into the town to find an alternate route that leads into the temple.' (RIGHT) 'Look for the well, which you can use to access an underground passage that leads to the area of the castle behind the portcullis.'|
Once you have tended to any side quests that interest you and looted houses for money and plants for herbs, you can find the secret well passage to proceed. If you descend from where the king is waiting at the gate, the alley splits off to the left or proceeds directly forward. If you head forward, you'll find some villagers being held against a wall by some soldiers. Just past the cluster of villagers, there's a short alleyway with a wooden gate leading to the right. A soldier's corpse lies just to the side. You can smash down the wooden gate with magic, then proceed through it to find a few soldiers guarding a well. Tend to them, then investigate the well and you can descend to its lower level.
Start forward through the well's lower level and you'll find that you're in an underground labyrinth of sorts. The arrow on the indicator will point you in the general direction that you need to go, so you shouldn't have much trouble navigating. Along the way, you'll have to battle Drowner enemies. They're bluish mutants and they can hit you fairly hard, but they're weak against your magic and sword just like typical soldiers would be. As long as you don't let them startle you (be careful as you round corners, since they like to hide against the walls and rush you when you think you're safe), you should have no trouble defeating them. Listen for menacing music to let you know if you're in the vicinity of some Drowners. Along the way, you'll have to smash through some boards that block an opening in order to proceed.
Explore, Don't IgnoreAfter slaying the initial pair of Drowners, Geralt faces off against a third Drowner before needing to use the Aard sign to demolish a barricade to the exit (and kill a fourth Drowner). If you ping your wolf medallion in the sewer where the barricade is, you will detect a wall of rubble that hides a Temerian Sword. Not a great bonus, but a handy one this early in the game.
When venturing around the world, using the wolf medallion to ping hidden secrets and bonus weapons will serve you well.
Near the back side of the dungeon, look for a gate with torch brackets on either side. Open the gate and head through it. A short distance beyond that, you'll find a ladder that leads up to high ground. When you arrive outside again, you will see an opening in a wall ahead of you. From there, it's possible to view some people standing by a shoreline. You don't advance through that opening, though. Instead, look to the right to see a winding staircase that leads to a higher floor.
|(LEFT) 'The Drowner enemies shouldn't pose much of a threat. They're good for experience points, at least.' (RIGHT) 'You'll have to climb over a low wall covered in leaves to reach the highest portion of the tower.'|
Climb the stairs and start along the corridor but keep an eye to your right. As you round a corner, you'll startle three guards that you must defeat. Try to back away so that they approach you in single file. Otherwise, you could rush into the trio and find them raining blows down on you from all sides. When you defeat the soldiers, look to the opposite side of the passageway. There's a gate you can pass through there to ascend a wide staircase. At the top, it appears that you've reached a dead end. You have not, however. Look along the right wall and there's an area where it falls away slightly.
Investigate to find that you can climb up through that recess in the wall to arrive on a grassy bank overhead. Start along that bank and follow it around to reach another group of soldiers who will attack you on sight. Defeat them, then look beyond them to find some doors. You can pass through those doors to face three more soldiers. Defeat them, then continue along the route that they were guarding. Note a locked door to the left that you can't enter yet. That will change in a moment.
Pass through to an open courtyard area and you'll find a ring of several more soldiers. This group is larger than the previous ones, and there is a commander with heavy armor. Take care of him first, if you can keep up a steady assault without being overwhelmed by the others. Use magic to break his defenses and then follow up with a few quick sword strokes. You'll receive a key when you defeat him, which you can use on the door that you passed a moment earlier. Defeat any straggler soldiers, then backtrack to the locked door and use the key. You'll gain access to a lever. Activate it to open the gate so that Foltest can pass through to the courtyard. Meet him there.
Another scene follows as Vernon Roche's interrogation continues. Then you will appear back in the castle environment that you just left. There, you'll speak with someone named Tailles, who it turns out was telling the truth about something. Converse with him (and slap him if you like) and the conversation ends with the revelation that the children are waiting in the solar. A new quest begins.
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