The Witcher 2 Walkthrough Part 38: Vergen Besieged Part 1

After completing the Hatred Symbolized, Death Symbolized, and The Eternal Battle quests, the only one left to complete in Aedirn will be Vergen Besieged. This quest will initiate on its own after you have completed The Eternal Battle. You will find yourself in Philippa’s house after the arduous battle in the mist. Speak with Philippa to progress with the quest. She will tell you that Saskia has just about fully recovered from the poisoning and is all ready to lead the upcoming battle. Leave Philippa and exit her house into the courtyard outside.

You will immediately notice the preparations that the townsfolk have been taking to prepare Vergen for war. There will be barricades in the streets and soldiers preparing for battle in the alleyways, much like there were in the Prologue mission. From Philippa’s house, you will have to head all the way down to the main gate of the city to speak with the dwarves. Head down the stairs from Philippa’s house, then turn around and head through the southern tunnel. Proceed under the bridge, up the stairs to the left, and through the series of buildings ahead to pop out in the main city square. Head up to the main gate to find the dwarves.

Speak with the dwarf by the gate. He will tell you that Henselt will be arriving at the city at any minute with an army to lay siege to the gates. You won’t have to wait long to see for yourself, though. The Kaedwenis will attack the gates and you will find yourself thrust into battle. A group of three Kaedweni soldiers will attack you straight away. Guard yourself and don’t let the enemies round your flanks. Use magic or parries to hold them at bay if necessary, and then strike them down with heavy, decisive sword strikes. After killing the initial wave of soldiers, you will have to find the winch to bathe the attacking enemies on the other side of the wall in boiling hot oil. Proceed up the stairs and turn to the left to find the winch at the end of the path. Run up to it and activate it. This will initiate a Quick Time Event. Click the left mouse button as quickly as you can to dump the oil on the unsuspecting enemies below.

Following your successful defense of the main gate, return to the back side of the gate to find Zoltan waiting for you. Speak with him to plan your counterattack. Despite your success with the winch and the oil, the Kaedwenis are proving to be an overwhelming foe. You and Zoltan will have to retreat with the rest of your forces. You will receive 300 experience points for completing the first leg of this quest, and your party will begin to retreat. Follow them back into the city proper. With any luck, the barriers erected in the streets will be enough to keep the Kaedwenis at bay while you form a plan for a counterattack.

When you reach the heart of the city, you will receive an additional 200 experience points. You will also meet up with Sheldon, who will meet you at the city’s inner gate and usher you inside to safety. After you reach the inside of the gate, climb up the stairs to the right to join Saskia on top of the walls. She will give you, as well as the soldiers assembled below, a speech to prepare for the coming battle. After her speech ends, the Kaedwenis will attack by propping ladders up against the wall and scaling the face of the wall that way. Don’t give them the chance to get the jump on you. Attack them with heavy attacks as they climb off of the ladders to inflict large amounts of damage before they can even attack you. You can also sling magic at them if you can’t make it to the ladders on time.

You will have to do this throughout several waves of enemy attacks. The soldiers will mount up for a second charge soon after you have defeated the first group of attackers, so be ready with physical attacks and magic, if necessary. A third wave will attack soon after the second one ends. Again, be ready to fend them off. After this wave is over, you will gain 400 more experience points. Head back to the ground to find Zoltan, and speak with him for another conversation about the status of the battle. Apparently, yet another force of Kaedwen soldiers is preparing to launch an assault on your position. Soon enough, they will burst in and begin the attack. You will have to fend off multiple waves of enemies again. This time, they will not wait for their allies to fall before joining them, so you will have more enemies to deal with at any given time than during the last battle. You may want to chug down a potion before this battle begins, especially if close-up swordplay is not your strongest suit. When the battle does begin, keep your back to a wall to ensure that none can get around you, and parry their attacks so that you don’t get knocked back by their sword blows. Don’t bother with an all-out attack, as you will most likely end up being struck by multiple sword blows and getting stunned momentarily. Remember to heal using Quen if you are injured too severely, as you can die from multiple sword attacks much faster than you may think.

After these waves of enemies are defeated, Saskia will come up to you and inform you of a scout that she sent out to secure the tunnels beneath Vergen. Unfortunately, the scout has not been heard of since he entered the tunnels. This indicates the possibility of a Kaedwanian attack from the tunnels, which, if true, would prove disastrous for Vergen. The enemies would be able to walk right past the gates and launch a surprise attack from inside of the city. The next section of the quest will take you down to the tunnels, to discover the fate of the scout and fend off more invading enemies.