As soon as you finish A Rough Landing, you’ll hear talk of a hanging in the Flotsam town square. From here, follow the small path into the town, past the merchants and sailors. Turn to the left upon reaching the main section of the town and head through the door to reach the town square. You’ll see a gallows with several people preparing to be hanged. It’s your job to save two of these people, the dwarf Zoltan and the bard Dandelion.
Speaking with the guard in front of the gallows yields little result at first. Follow up by telling him that Zoltan and Dandelion are your friends and he’ll be more likely to spill some details. Zoltan has been accused of working with the Scoia’tael, while Dandelion is being punished for debauchery. Take an argumentative stance with the guard and ask what kind of crime is debauchery, anyway? The crowd will begin to rally behind you, with a local prostitute bemoaning that she makes a living off of debauchery and Dandelion shouldn’t be hanged for similar indiscretions.
With the crowd rallied behind you, the guard will snap and try to fight you. Thus begins another quick time event in which you must carefully time your presses of the W, A, S, and D keys to dodge and counter the guard’s attacks. As you fight, another guard proceeds along the gallows, hanging the prisoners one by one. Just before he hangs Dandelion, you should defeat the first guard and move on to him. Defeat the executioner in the same way to get the attention of the head of Flotsam’s guard, Loredo.
Talking with Loredo will free Zoltan and Dandelion, although they will be placed under close watch and are not allowed to accompany you on your quest. Loredo will invite you to meet him at his home after dark, initiating a quest called Indecent Proposal. It is currently midday, though, and your meeting with Loredo is best left for after you’ve finished your other work in Flotsam. For now, do as Dandelion and Zoltan suggest and head to the tavern directly to the left of the gallows.
A notice board hangs on the front of the bar, which you can examine to pick up some contracts for side missions. You may examine it if you like, but it’s unwise to pursue any of these missions just yet. Unless you imported a save from The Witcher you are currently without a Silver Sword, which will be necessary for fighting most monsters.
Head into the bar and wait for Zoltan and Dandelion to sit down at a table with Triss before joining them to initiate a conversation. Listen to everything your friends have to say. When the conversation ends, the town will go into a panic. This marks the first appearance of the Kayran, a local river monster that has been terrorizing the merchants and sailors of Flotsam for some time now. Run outside of the bar to witness the beast take a local man in its massive tentacle and shake him around brutally. Just as it seems the man is doomed, a sorceress emerges from the crowd on the bridge and uses magic to subdue the creature.
Talk to her. You’ll learn that her name is Sile de Tansarville, and it appears that she has some history with Geralt and Triss, although Geralt’s amnesia prevents him from remembering exactly role she played in his past. Make preparations with Sile to slay the Kayran. When the local peasants appear and begin berating Sile for not subduing the Kayran sooner, scare them off using either intimidation or the Axii sign to continue with the conversation at hand.
After this conversation, you should begin preparation to fight the Kayran. Unlike in most games, your confrontation with this monster is not merely a simple boss battle. You’ll have to complete a number of smaller quests and talk to several civilians and even complete a side quest or two if you want to be prepared to slay the Kayran. This preparation will be covered in the next section of the guide. For now, you’ll receive 300 experience points for finishing up Stringing Up Sods.
