The Witcher 2 Walkthrough Part 3: Trial By Fire & To The Temple

After firing the ballista and talking Aryan La Valette down, the scene will switch to Geralt’s interrogation in the dungeons. To initiate Trial By Fire and end the interrogation sequence, select the dialogue option “What ultimately happened to the dragon?” This will launch you back into the battle, where a dragon will suddenly swoop in from above and begin laying waste to the battlements.

From the starting point of the quest, flee forward and to the left, keeping against the wall and under the wooden awnings. Several groups of two soldiers each will begin advancing on you as you near the end of the courtyard, seemingly unafraid of the dragon. Take them out quickly while avoiding the dragon’s breath. Wait for the flames on the ground to die out before proceeding towards the building ahead. Allow Triss to lift the debris from your path and run through the building. Don’t stop to wait for Triss; she will stay behind and find another path. Cross the wooden bridge to reach the stone platform, initiating another cutscene and marking the end of Trial By Fire.

The next quest, To The Temple, begins with Foltest and his heavy Roche attempting to hack through a large wooden gate with the help of their axe men. The gate is strong and the attack is of no use, so they order Geralt to find an alternate way in. This leaves you to wander around a small town in search of a secret entrance to the monastery.

This section is a bit more open than most of the previous ones have been, and thus hides more secrets. Turn and walk down the stairs, then turn towards the left and head through a small opening between two houses. Upon entering the area you’ll see a group of Temerian soldiers murdering a civilian, then going into her house and raiding it. If you like, you can follow them into the house and deter them from raiding the house by using the Axii sign, intimidation, or persuasion. Then, talk to the man cowering in the corner. He will thank you and you will receive 50 experience points. You can also press the issue and ask for money, in which case your reward will be 10 orens and 30 experience points instead.

Exit the building and turn left, following the curve of the wall. You should reach a lone house sitting with its back to the wall, where more soldiers torment the civilians. Dissuade them, and their captain will come along looking for a fight. This initiates a quick time event in which you must hit the A, S, D, and W keys in time with the prompts in order to fend the attacker off. This minigame will be repeated numerous times throughout the game in bars, where you will be able to bet money on your fighting skills. For now, however, you’ll only serve to scare the commander and his goons away, leaving you to either threaten the civilians yourself or simply accept their thanks. Threatening them will earn you 175 experience points and 20 orens, while leaving them be will get you a larger 200 experience points but no money.

From here, turn right and head all the way down the alley. Five stragglers from Aryan La Valette’s army will challenge you, but they are just basic soldiers and are easily defeated. After taking them out, another group of soldiers will push a cart down the alley, blocking your path. Turn around and leave the area the same way you came, as you must now find an alternate way around. Be sure to stop in any houses you haven’t visited yet along the way, as many hide orens or plants that you may later use in alchemy.

When you reach the stairs leading up to the large wooden gate, turn left and head past the lineup of prisoners being lectured by Foltest’s soldiers. Right behind this lineup is a small alleyway with a dead soldier slumped over at its entrance. Slip past the soldier and into the alley, where you’ll be blocked by a weak wooden wall. Use Aard to break through the wall. Three more basic soldiers will attack, surprised by your explosive entrance. After killing them, turn left to find the entrance to the sewers.

The sewers house Drowners, some of the first monsters you’ll face. Monsters in The Witcher 2 are resilient to steel and must be fought using your silver sword, drawn by pressing 2. Draw your silver sword and kill the Drowners in a similar manner as you would fight the soldiers. These creatures are wek and pose little threat individually, so feel free to explore the sewers a little. A Place Of Power lies in a dead end path to the right. This Place Of Power grants you the Circle of Vitality, granting you an additional +2 vitality regeneration outside of combat. From here, turn around and walk down the long path ahead. You’ll pass two dead end paths on either side before reaching the way forward, located down the third path on your right.

Go down this path to the end, then hang a left and follow that path all the way to the end as well. At the end of this path, turn right and proceed through the narrow gap in the walls. On the opposite side of this large room sits another weak wooden wall. Blast it apart using Aard. Kill the Drowners as they come; they shouldn’t give you too much trouble as long as you manage to fight them off one at a time. After dealing with all of the monsters, follow the path of columns up to the front of the room, where in a small alleyway you will find a ladder. Climb the ladder to exit the sewers.

Geralt spots a group of Scoia’tael elves on his way out, but pays them little mind. Climb up the winding staircase. On the way up, switch back to your steel sword. A group of three soldiers waits at the top of the staircase. The room you’ll be fighting in here is fairly small, so dodging won’t be much of an option. Instead, use Aard to push enemies back and give yourself a little breathing room. Push two enemies back and kill the third, repeating the process until all of them are dead.

Head straight out of the room and turn around. You should see an area of the wall that can be climbed. It will be framed with leaves. Climb up here to get outside of the castle. Walk along this path and head through the door ahead. The door to the right is locked and you will need to find a lever to open it. Luckily, the mechanism sits right across from the door, along with a winch and a chest. Get the winch to use the lever and loot the chest. Unlock the door and head through to reach the opposite side of the large wooden gate.

Talk to Foltest to end the quest.