You will only be able to complete this quest after you have completed the series of quests leading up to healing Saskia. This includes the quests Hunting Magic, Royal Blood, Subterranean Life, Where Is Triss Merigold, and A Matter Of Life And Death. At the conclusion of the A Matter Of Life And Death quest, you will deliver all of the needed healing items to Philippa and she will get to work on healing Saskia. With Saskia revived, you will automatically be transported back to her house.
At Saskia’s house, you can talk with her about her poisoning and her current heath. The most pressing matter, though, is Saskia’s sword. She will ask for the sword, called Vandergrift’s Sword, after coming back to her wits. You will need the sword to part the mist outside of the village and fulfill your promise to Henselt. This will conclude the A Matter Of Life And Death quest and begin the Hatred Symbolized quest, which will later tie in with Death Symbolized and The Eternal Battle.
Hand over the sword, but ask Saskia for her permission to keep it. She will allow you to take the sword and say that the blade is nothing more than scrap metal in her eyes, as she has little value for blades. Now you will have one of the items necessary to remove the cursed for from the land. You will need to complete the Death Symbolized quest in order to get the other one, so leave Saskia’s house and proceed towards Philippa’s house again. You may have gotten the Vendergrift Sword easily from Saskia, but this next item will not be so simple to obtain. Leave the door and head to the northeast to find Philippa in her home waiting for you
Strike up a conversation with Philippa when you reach her. Choose to ask her about war artifacts to lead into a discussion of the next possible item needed to remove the mist. The four items that you will need to obtain will all symbolize different things, with Death, Hatred, Courage, and Faith all making an appearance. You just collected Hatred from Saskia, so this quest should complete itself immediately. Now that you have completed Hatred Symbolized, head out to search for Death.
