Guests Are Not Welcome

Penitent (Wraith)

Apparently, if a note marked “The Phantom of Eldberg” is to be believed, a dreaded wraith has sprung up on the isle of Eldberg, covering the rugged island in a thick blanket of fog and snuffing the light from the lighthouse. Jorund of Arinbjorn will pay from his own gold if this spirit is driven off. Enter the longhouse next to the Notice Board, and you’re stopped by two inhospitable fellows (Kori and Kraki) who don’t like foreigners. Before the situation boils over, an older man steps in shoos them away. This is Jorund, son of Sigvald.

Over mead and ale, barter a price for your services if you wish, then agree to investigate the isle.

It is a rough trek north toward the three small masses of rock that make up Eldberg Isle. They are connected by ruined bridges, and the going is slow if you venture from the road. Navigate past flapping ekhidra foes and the rotting wreckage of longships run aground. Look for the remains of a bridge to climb up, then onto the remains of a road. Run northward, jumping any gaps to you need to. Navigate onto the second island, facing down any drowned dead and dagr you wish, before reaching the most northern isle of all. Or, you can sail here, which is a little easier.

This isn’t your average mist. Slow down a little, relying more on your minimap as you follow the winding path past a bilge hag attack and up onto the heath. Amid the fog are faint green lights hanging from the ethereal rags of wraiths. Face two of them, before you reach a lonely longhouse. The residence of Mikkjal the keeper. Begin a search using your Witcher Senses. Locate the following:

• A corpse by the drystone wall that almost managed to find cover.
• The front door of the longhouse. Knock on it, and you enter, discovering that Mikkjal is still alive.

Mikkjal explains that the wraiths and fog appeared from nowhere. One of the wraiths knew him by name and seemed to control the mists. Obtain the key from Mikkjal. Optionally search the lighthouse to find a letter proving Mikkjal was responsible for extinguishing the lighthouse, and caused the ships to wreck.

Venture back out into the mist and follow the precarious path north. Slow down to tackle two wraiths, since running from them may cause you to be overwhelmed by the four harpies along the path. Slay these feathered foes, and two more wraiths before the mist clears and you reach the base of the lighthouse. Locate the following using your Witcher Senses:

• A set of glyphs daubed onto the lighthouse tower. They are symbols of bonding.

It is a curse that keeps the specters here. The spirit in question hasn’t appeared to you, and you couldn’t kill it in the mists anyway. So head back down to the lone longhouse and tell Mikkjal that Penitent haunts this island. The only way to limit its power is to illuminate the lighthouse. But Mikkjal is no warrior, he must be guarded while he sets the fire.

You arrive at the base of the lighthouse, and leave Mikkjal to run to the tower while you waylay the penitent leering out of the mists. A named wraith (Penitent) begins its assault on you. You can do little but block these attacks. During the fight it disappears, summoning some minion wraiths (once before the lighthouse is lit, then once afterwards). However, a few moments later Mikkjal’s oil does the trick, the lighthouse is ablaze, and the mist lifts. Penitent becomes vulnerable to your weapons. Slay this specter!

End: Stranger in a Strange Land

Penitent is dismissed. After speaking to Mikkjal (ordering him to leave the island if you knew he was at fault), head south back to the mainland, and seek out Jorund in Arinbjorn.

You inform him of your triumph and are given a just reward. However, as you leave, you are met by one of the scallywags that annoyed you in this longhouse just before your first meeting with Jorund. This ends in a fight, and Secondary Quest: Stranger in a Strange Land (see page 419) begins automatically.