No matter which way you chose to gain access to the Nilfgaardian camp, the following events will play out in basically the same way. The soldier who confiscates your weapons at the exit of the tunnel will lead you to Shilard. He will comment on what you have been doing so far in the area. As he speaks with you, though, Geralt will zone out and flash back into another forgotten memory. You will see him at the execution at the Ravine of the Hydra. Geralt will struggle with a manticore. After this, you will flash back to speaking with Shilard. He will search you and find the artifact that you took off of the courier’s corpse. In a surprising twist (spoiler) the figurine that you picked up will actually be Triss, but under a spell called Artifact Compression. In the typical villain’s manner, he will reveal the grand scheme of his plan to you. It will turn out that Philippa’s apprentice Cynthia is actually a spy for Nilfgard (end spoiler.) After Shilard’s speech, you will be sentenced to death because you now know too much about Nilfgard’s plans.
Shilard will command his mage bodyguard Vanhemar to execute you. Right before he can do this, Roche and Ves will come to your rescue. You will now have to battle Vanhemar and several of his footsoldiers.
Boss Battle: Vanhemar
Vanhemar is a bit of a tricky foe because he has mastery of magic just like Geralt does. This means that he can heal himself in much the same manner that you can with Quen. He will also be able to hurl fireballs at you. Despite these tricky attacks, Vanhemar won’t actually be that tough, physically speaking. Equip your Steel Sword and hack away at Vanhemar. Use magic against him when you are too far away to connect with sword blows. Dodge roll from side to side to avoid the enemy’s fireballs, and chain together multiple sword attacks to whittle down his health before he has a chance to heal.
The only other thing you’ll have to watch out for in this battle is Vanhemar’s footsoldiers. Don’t let them flank around you; it is best to kill off these weaker enemies right as the battle starts, so that they can’t pester you throughout the fight.
After the battle, you will have a conversation about Loc Muinne with Roche. Loot the Armor of Loc Muinne from Vanhemar’s corpse, and enter the Ambassador’s tent to find the Song of the Hunt and Shilard’s Letter. Now ask Roche about getting into Henselt’s camp, but only if you opted not to kill the traitor in the Royal Blood quest earlier. In this case, you will have to go to Henselt’s camp and ask him for the blood that you will need to cure Saskia. Roche will agree to help you by distracting the guards in front of the camp, allowing you entrance. He will approach the first set of guards by Henselt’s door. Take cover behind the nearby boxes to avoid the guards catching on to your ruse. Loop around the boxes towards the barrels to the right. When you reach the barrels, cast Aard on them. This will get the attention of the next set of guards. When they come over to investigate, backpedal to where you started and sneak into the camp. It will now be free of guards.
Slip into Henselt’s tent and speak with him. Convince him to help you by promising to remove the mist from the land, and he will give you a container filled with his own blood, thus fulfilling the requirement of Royal Blood. Henselt will have his guards escort you out of the area. You will gain 1,000 experience points if you didn’t complete this mission earlier, and the Royal Blood quest will be complete.
Now that you have completed Royal Blood and most of Where Is Triss Merigold, it is time to loot some extra stuff from the area. Some of these items will come in handy later on in the game, in Act 3. Far from the confines of Aedirn is a treasure that will prove very useful later. Head to the south of the city and follow the ravines and cliffs as far to the west as you possibly can. After heading south, curve around the lower path and follow it back up to the northwest. This path will eventually straighten out into a west-leading path that will lead you to the seaside. Here, you will find a little hut. Head down into the cellar of the hut. Here you will find the Malget’s Notes item. These will be useful during the From A Bygone Era quest in Act 3. You will have to solve a puzzle before you can get to them, though.
Malget’s Notes Puzzle
The Malget’s Notes item will be guarded by stacks of barrels. You will have to use Aard on them to reveal the entrance to the cellar. Climb down into the cellar to begin the puzzle. You will be faced with several slides that can be turned around to have different images on them. The correct order of the images is as follows:
Inverted Caret, Diamond, Caret
Once you enter the images in this order, a second door will open and give you access to another room. You can loot the item from here.
After you have taken all you can from the area, head back to Aedirn and speak with Philippa. Tell her about the nature of the enchantment on Triss and inform her of her assistant’s identity. Philippa will be understandably upset. She will ask that you go back to Vergen, meaning that you will have to trek through the mist yet again. This trip will go similarly to the last time you had to follow the owl through the mist. Just stick close to your protective bubble and keep your Silver Sword equipped in case any nearby monsters decide to have a go at you. Once there, head inside of Philippa’s house, which is all the way in the top left corner of Vergen, through the tunnel to the east. Speak with her again to find that Cynthia left a few things behind. You will obtain Triss’ rose of remembrance and the Negotiator Silver Sword, along with 2,250 experience points.
