The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Act 1 Side Quests – Bitter Harvest, Ciri’s Room, Thou Shalt Not Pass

Unlike many open world games, you must complete secondary quests (side quests) in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as soon as possible, otherwise they become unavailable the further you progress in the game. This is because many of these quests are active during main quests. Finish the main quest and you essentially kill the side quests associated with it. 

This feature covers the first group of secondary quests you encounter during Act 1 of The Witcher 3.  

Side Quest: Funeral Pyres 

• Location: Velen, Priest of Eternal Fire
• Related Quest: The Nilfgaardian Connection
• Reward: 60 Crowns, Experience Points 

Begin by traveling down the road west of Mulbrydale, to the southwest of Hanged Man’s Tree. Continue along this road until you see it curving to the north. You’ll see an Eternal Fire priest, so approach and have a chat to kick off this secondary quest. You will immediately see three points highlighted on the map, the nearest one to the southwest of the priest. 

Go there and slaughter the Rotfiend. During the battle, pay close attention to when the creature’s head grows larger than normal, signifying an impending explosion is about to occur. When the monster is dead, approach the pit and then drizzle oil onto the corpses. Now set the deceased ablaze with Igni magic.

From where you are, travel southeast to another waypoint and prepare to battle four Ghouls. Kill the Ghouls, place oil on the corpses and set them on fire.  

Travel north and you’ll see another group of four ghouls, but they’re attacking someone. Save this non-player character to learn that the priest might be shady.

Repeat the oil and fire process with the corpses and return to the priest. Side note: exploring the settlement southwest of the priest allows you to start Secondary Quest: Fake Papers.

You have two available options when dealing with the priest. Accept the bribe and you will receive crowns for this quest. Conversely, you can attack the priest and the guards, then take the loot anyway. Up to you.

Side Quest: Fake Papers

• Location: Velen, with a Shady Merchant
• Related Quest: The Nilfgaardian Connection
• Reward: Transit Pass, Experience Points 

Remember the Hanged Man’s Tree Geralt can fast travel from? Walk along the road north of this tree and stay on the path until it points west. You will reach a settlement near a bridge, and to the east is the Shady Merchant. Talk to him but don’t hand over the fee to start this quest; oddly enough, you can pay to end Fake Papers, but why would you do that? 

Instead, take the bridge and talk to the Redanian soldier to begin the Thou Shalt Not Pass side quest. This may sound strange, but it and Fake Papers tie together. If you do this, both quests are active. Now travel to the waypoint on the map, which is west of the settlement. 

When you get there, Albin and his buddies are under attack by a couple of Ghouls.  Kill these monsters and do whatever it takes to keep Albin alive, then have a chat. Doing this begins the Bitter Harvest side quest. When you finish it, return to the Shady Merchant and Geralt will receive a discount on his pass, thus finishing the quest. 

Side Quest: Bitter Harvest

• Location: Velen, through Albin
• Related Quest: The Nilfgaardian Connection
• Reward: 20 Crowns, Experience Points 

Talking to Albin kicks off this side quest. If you read this walkthrough up this point, you already know we suggest activating the Fake Papers side quest at the same time, because both it and Bitter Harvest are related. With two quests activated, hang around the scavengers and dispose of the Ghouls and other adversaries. 

Whatever you do, don’t let Albin die! If that happens you will fail the quest. Enemies come in waves and you will need to kill at least three waves for them to stop advancing. This ends the quest and you can then knock Fake Papers off your list. 

Side Quest: Thou Shalt Not Pass

• Location: Velen, with the Redanian Soldier
• Related Quest: The Nilfgaardian Connection
• Reward: Experience Points

Continue this quest by traveling along the bridge, which is northwest of that Shady Merchant. You will encounter a Redanian soldier on the opposite side, and you’re able to use magic to obtain passes to start Thou Shall Not Pass. Finish the Fake Papers side quest, return to this Redanian soldier and you will end Thou Shalt Not Pass. 

Side Quest: Ciri’s Room

• Location: Velen, at the Baron’s Residence
• Related Quest: Family Matters
• Reward: Experience Points

When you finish up at the baron’s place while on Main Quest: Family Matters, you start this side quest. Go to the marker on the map and use Geralt’s Witcher Senses to find three key objects in red. Among them is a book titled The Natural Obscurity of Curses. Pick up the spinning top and clothing, then read the book, which is accessible via your inventory.

Now go into the kitchen and talk to Gretka. Watch the cut scene and the side quest concludes.

Explore the game’s massive world with Prima’s free The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt walkthrough, and master the art of persuasion with our Romance guide. When you’re ready for more Act 1 Velen side quests, we’ll tell you how to complete Magic Lamp, A Towerful of Mice and Wild at Heart.

Ready to stand against the Wild Hunt? Prima’s official strategy guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough to help make decisions, navigate the vast game areas and reach the ending you want. The collector’s edition offers even more, with 32 pages of bonus content.