How Act II of the game plays out depends on who you helped in Act I. If you chose to help Iorveth, this quest will be your introduction to Act II, and the rest of the Act will play out very differently than if you chose to help Roche.
In this section, you will take control of Prince Stennis, an important political figure in Aedirn. You will begin in the wilderness outside of civilization. Accompanying you will be an NPC named Saskia and a priest named Olcan. You must proceed forward through the ravine and to the left when the path branches into two. Along the way, Saskia will describe to you her goals for your upcoming meeting with Kaedwen politicians. She wants to keep Vergen from being sold off. Although her intentions seem pure, Olcan warns against giving her such a prominent position in the army. He claims that he had a vision of Saskia transforming into a demon.
When you reach the Kaedwen tent, you’ll meet Henselt. Instead of a peaceful greeting, however, you’ll be met with a war party. It doesn’t matter which options you choose in the ensuing dialogue, as all of them will inevitably lead to battle. Focus all of your attacks on either Dethmold or Henselt, as doing enough damage to either of them will trigger a cutscene. Henselt furiously strikes down Olcan. As he does, powerful magic is released and a curse sets over the area.
Now the action will cut back to Geralt. You will be accompanied by a party of dwarves. Zoltan and Dandelion will introduce Geralt to the dwarf Yarpen Zigrin. As you talk, the sun will suddenly be blotted out by darkness. This is the curse activating on the other side of the island. You will receive 200 experience points for making it this far.
From Olcan’s corpse spews an army of specters. It is up to you and Iorveth to find Saskia and save her. Proceed upwards and loop around the rocky outcropping to find the specters. Fight them off using your silver sword and magic. Numerous waves of them will come at you from the shadows. After killing several waves, two Draugirs will emerge and attack you. Be careful when fighting them. Time your quick strikes carefully and use Quen to avoid taking too much damage.
Once you have defeated the Draugirs, an owl will emerge through the mist. Follow it to get out of the mist to safety. The owl will turn out to be the sorceress Philippa Eilhart. She will cast a spell, killing the remaining specters. Now you must accompany her out of the battlefield inside of her spell. This section is similar to your landing at Flotsam, where you stood inside of a protective bubble defending Triss and Roche. Here, you must protect Philippa from Wraiths and a Draugir when her shield changes from orange to blue. Focus on the Wraiths, not the Draugir. The Draugir will die automatically once you have killed enough Wraiths. As your party loops its way around the battlefield, three of these encounters will take place. Each of them plays out similarly; defend Philippa and kill all of the Wraiths as fast as you can.
Finally, you will reach the exit to Vergen’s Wilderness. It looks like a giant wall of blue smoke. This is in fact the exit from the cursed area of the world. Philippa will turn back into her human shape and express her concern for Saskia. You will receive 550 experience points and unlock two quests, The War Council and Bring It On: Vergen.
