This short walkthrough will cover the option of going in through the sewers, instead of riling up the guards for a fight. Iorveth will be pleased if you choose this option, as he was the one who suggested it in the first place. You can find the entrance to the sewers in the back right-hand corner of the city, behind the tower. Approach the back wall to find the entrance. This will open up a door behind a pair of bullvores. Trace the left wall to find a spot where you can climb up. Climb the wall and enter the hallway beyond. Enemies will begin to fight you starting here, so be on your guard.
The first enemies to attack will be a small group of Rotfiends. At this point, you should be powerful enough to easily overwhelm them. Proceed to the end of the tunnel, fighting off any straggling Rotfiends along the way, to find a climbing spot on the wall at the very back of the tunnel. Climb up here as well. Run forward, to the end of the hall. When you can’t go forward anymore, turn to the right and head to the end of this hall as well. As you approach the end, you will head a conversation between Philippa, Shilard, and Radovid. Just as he would if you managed to get yourself into prison, (Spoiler) Radovid will order Philippa’s eyes gouged out (End Spoiler.) There is nothing you can do to prevent this.
Climb down into the main hall of the prison. You will have to kill two guards. Parry their attacks and use quick strikes to kill them before they can even deal any damage to you. After this, you will have to deal with Shilard. Luckily for you, this is delegated to a cutscene for the time being. With Shilard knocked out of the way and the guards dead, speak with Philippa. As you leave the prison, the wounded Philippa will give you a choice; you can either help her by bringing her to her house, or help Triss by invading the Nilfgaardian camp. If you help Philippa, she will promise to remove the spell from Saskia. If you do one of these, you naturally cannot do the other. With this choice in mind, you will complete the For A Higher Cause! quest, and you will receive 500 experience points.
