The Witcher 2 Walkthrough Part 31: Where Is Triss Merigold (Aedirn) Part 2

In order to progress both this and the Royal Blood quests, you will have to hand over Triss’ bandanna to Philippa. If you haven’t done this yet, refer to the previous guide, Royal Blood Part 2. Handing over the bandanna will reward you with 1,500 experience points. After you have finished up the Royal Blood quest, head back to speak with Philippa again. She will tell you that she can sense Triss through the bandanna, but only faintly. She will then tell you that you must head through the mist that blankets parts of the land, as Triss’ signal was emenating from that side of the island. She will meet you at the gate to the south of the camp when you are ready to pursue Triss.

Before heading out, you may want to restock on potions and see if you can obtain any better weapons or anything like that. The mists are dangerous, and Philippa will not be able to accompany you all the way through them because of Dethmold’s incredible power.

When you are ready to go, head through the southern gate of Aedirn and proceed into the valleys to the south. Here you will find Philippa waiting for you. Philippa will be in her owl form so as to better shield you from the vile mist. Just like in the beginning of chapter 2, she will fly around overhead warding off the mist while you stay inside of the protective bubble formed by her magic and fend off any attackers. Those attackers will come in the forms of Wraiths and Draugirs. Make sure that you have your Silver Sword equipped so as to properly deal with them.

Philippa will lead you on a linear path through the mist. Watch out for the first wave of Wraiths soon after you enter the dark mists. Cast Aard on them and stay agile to avoid being knocked back by their attacks. Hit them from the sides and the back to deal heavy damage, and cut through the first wave quickly. Another wave of enemies will emerge soon after the first hits the floor. Repeat the same strategy to kill the Wraiths in this wave. As you proceed, the Draugir will emerge from the mist and attack you. You are now near the end of the sequence. You will just have to defeat this large enemy to proceed with the quest. Use your magic to stun him, and don’t neglect to heal if you have to. When the Draugir is pushed back, hack away at him furiously with your Silver Sword. As the Draugir begins to regain consciousness, back away from him and hit him with magic again. During the battle, be sure to stay within the confines of Philippa’s protective bubble. This should be your highest priority, even over defeating the Draugir.

Once the final enemy has fallen, you will reach your destination. Philippa will stop and tell you that she can’t accompany you any farther because of Dethmold’s powerful senses. If he senses Philippa in the area, he will attack, and this will not be an attack that either of you will be strong enough to defend against just yet. She will fly back to Aedirn, leaving you on your own. You will find yourself near a dilapidated tower and several columns of stone protruding from the ground. Head up to find a path that arcs off towards the left. Follow this path as if heads to the southwest, and watch out for any stray monsters spawning along the way. When you reach a certain point, Geralt will find a man and a cutscene will trigger.

The man, as it turns out, was a courier. He is very much dead now, though. Geralt will investigate the body and find an artifact of some sort on the corpse. As you lift the artifact from the courier’s corpse, a familiar form will approach you. Turn around to find Roche. He will be furious with you for siding with Iorveth over him during chapter one. That said, he will not resort to violence against you. Not now, anyway. Tell him about Triss’ disappearance at the hands of Letho to win him over. Roche will agree to help you find Triss for now. He will inform you that there is a Nilfgaardian camp ahead, and that Triss may well be a prisoner in the camp. You will have two options for infiltrating the camp and securing Triss. You can either enter the town through the brothel, or head through a series of caves underneath of the camp.

Brothel Entrance

Head up the side stairs to find a prostitute and initiate this method of entry. Speak with the NPC named Madam Carole at the top of the steps. You will have to bribe your way inside for 400 orens, and once inside you will have to be sneaky about your approach. She will inform you of a secret tunnel under the brothel that leads into the heart of town. It is full of monsters so the civilians don’t use it anymore, but you should be able to get through just fine. Proceed into the tent after the conversation ends and use the path here to get into the entryway below you. Loot the crates and chests in the basement of the tower to find the Armor of Ban Ard and a few various other items. You will have to battle monsters to get these items, though. Mostly, there are just your typical Bullvores and Rotfiends in the area, but a Golem will guard the Amror of Ban Ard down the second offshoot to the right. You will have to use magic heavily to damage the Golem.

Proceed through the far end of the tunnel to reach the exit. As you reach the exit, though, a soldier will stop you. Instead of arresting you like you might expect, he ends up believing that you are entering the city through legitimate means and asks merely that you hand over your weapons before entering the camp. You will have no choice but to comply with this request.

Camp Entrance

Go towards the cliffs if you wish to enter through the caverns below the camp. Jump down when prompted to reach the entrance to the camp. You will now have to sneak around to avoid getting caught by the crossbowmen who guard the camp. If one of them sees you, he will shoot you for an instant kill. Sneak around the cantina to find a group of five patrols. Stop and wait for them to get lined up into a better position. When their backs are turned to you, quickly sneak to the other side of the area, towards the kitchens. Don’t even bother trying to kill any of these enemies, as you will alert the others along with the crossbowmen. When you reach the kitchens, get ready for a QTE. A cook will see you and begin to exclaim. Silence him.

Take the gate to proceed outside. Knock out the guard looking through the spyglass and proceed to the cavern’s entrance below you. Along the way, you will gain the ability Child of the Night for sneaking through the camp unseen. This will grant you +2 vitality regeneration during the nighttime.

You will enter the same series of caverns that you would have entered before by talking to the prostitute. Proceed through them in the same way and give your weapons up to the guard at the other end to continue with the mission.