The Nithing

Nithing to See Here

Check the Notice Board a little way from the beach in Rannvaig, and tackle the following request—marked “Nithing.” It seems a local man named Lothar is having trouble with a cruel and treacherous curse. Locate the abode of the blighted Lothar, and find him tending to his garden. Ask about the curse, and he explains a horse’s head on a pole has appeared, with the named of his first-born Tjalve carved on it. Now his son has a fever.

Move to the nithing itself, a slightly unpleasant mass of skull and wood bearing Tjalve’s name. But there are footprints leading away from the totem.These are tracks to follow (using your Witcher Senses) through the undergrowth to a dead tree where a woman’s shawl was dropped. It has a distinctive pattern and smell. Pick up the odor, and follow it back into Rannvaig.

Step into the objective area around town, and begin to quiz the peasants about the shawl. One of the women recognizes it as belonging to the herbalist Jonna. Locate her close to her small dwelling, and speak to this jealous woman about lifting the curse. She tells you how to lift the curse, though Lotar might not be happy.

End: Sowing His Seed with the Herbalist Hussy

It seems Lothar has been more than economical with his lovemaking, and Jonna wants him back in her arms. He doesn’t want this though, as it will shame his wife and family.

You can coax him into one of the following, when Lothar wishes death upon Jonna:

• Say “can’t do that”, and he reluctantly heads to Jonna, to save his son and take responsibilities for his actions. The quest concludes.
• Say “so be it”, and help Lothar, despite the newly gathered information. You need to reverse the nithing’s curse. Head to it and inspect it and inscribe a new target on the shaft. Now return to Lothar for your reward. Afterward, when you return to Rannvaig, your inscription has resulted in the death of Joanna (though you aren’t suspected). You’ve lost a prime source for rare herbs and recipes.

After either decision is made, the quest concludes. If you reverse the curse on Janna, Lothar awards you with crowns.