The Witcher 3 - Payback, Blindingly Obvious, stables, bathhouse, Philippa Eilhart

Follow Ciri through the city streets until you reach your destination. To pass by the doormen, either use Delusion Level 3 or resort to good old-fashioned threats. Prepare to fight if you opt for the latter, then head inside the building. Follow Ciri upstairs then, once the cut-scene ends, ask Dudu to prove himself. Finally, work through the conversation and say farewell.

Payback

Follow Ciri

Back outside, follow Ciri all the way to the Golden Sturgeon and head on in. Politely (or impolitely) ask the unwanted guests to leave then, when the coast is clear, speak to Bea. Introduce yourself then work your way through the conversation.

Follow Ciri

Leave the tavern and begin the trek to Farcorners. On arrival, converse with some old friends and offer to help Valdo. Agree to a race to bring the conversation to a close.

Take part in the race

As soon as the race begins, sprint through the trees using the line on the mini-map as a guide. There's a feast to be had once the race is over, so stick around a while longer. When night falls, speak with Ciri, then agree to steal some horses.

Rob the stables

Meet Ciri and Aegar near the Novigrad stables

Aegar and Ciri wait a little way ahead. Approach them to begin the next stage of the quest.

Sneak into the stables

Follow your comrades down the slope then clamber onto the wooden platform situated against the building's west-facing wall. Scramble onto the roof then head through the open doorway.

Find a way to open the stable doors from the inside using your Witcher Senses

Inside the building, descend the ladder and carefully approach the sleeping guard to the north. Activate your Witcher Senses, locate the keys on the table nearby and grab them. Finally, open the door to your right. When the robbery is complete, wrap up the conversation to end the quest.

Final Preparations (continued)

Talk to Triss

Next, use the objective marker to locate Triss back at the inn. When you enter her room, tell her that you had no choice about Imlerith. Work through the conversation to find out more about the Lodge, and ask if Triss has had any luck locating Philippa. Your only clue to her whereabouts is a lone feather, so agree to get started on your next mission.

Blindingly Obvious

Go to the bathhouse with Triss

Follow Triss through the city until you reach the bathhouse.

Look for Philippa in the bathhouse

On your arrival, head inside immediately. Leave Triss to guard the door.

Catch Philippa Eilhart

Head along the corridor, passed Dijkstra, and take a left through the door leading into the bathhouse's main chamber. Deal with the possessed guards in the area then follow the objective marker into the next room. Hop into the large bathtub and descend the ladder. At the bottom, follow the corridor along and take care of the henchmen at the end.

Next, head through the gate and take a left as the chamber widens out. Pass through the hole in the wall and talk to Bart. Tell him that you want to help Philippa then continue along the tunnel to the right. Pass through the gate ahead and follow the corridor around to the right. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead then use the next gate to catch up with Philippa.

Sneak up on Philippa without making too much noise

Your first task in this area is to take down the fire elemental while avoiding Philippa's purple ground spells. You shouldn't have too much trouble with the latter - just keep on dodging around the room - but you'll need to be careful where the fire elemental is concerned.

It's not that the creature is particularly strong - your sword should make relatively light work of it. Instead, it's the fact that you'll suffer fire damage - causing you to lose health rapidly - if you get too close to the elemental while it burns. As such, immediately extinguish the creature with a blast of Aard. This enables you to attack in close quarters unhindered.

Be warned however; when the fire elemental is no longer aflame, it switches from its usual charge and flail attacks to something more deadly. Now, it can send trails of fire hurtling across the ground, toss fireballs and slam down to create a fiery explosion. Thankfully, these moves aren't too difficult to avoid, so focus on attacking the elemental from behind. Use Aard if it sets itself alight again.

Once the creature is dead, proceed up the staircase and jump over the hole. Carefully make your way around the upper platform heading toward Philippa's position. She'll continually cast her purple spells as you go so don't dawdle for too long.

Once you get close enough, the action moves back upstairs to the bathhouse. Tell Dijkstra that you need Philippa and offer to give him information on the emperor in order to end the quest.

Final Preparations (continued)

Talk to Yennefer

Leave the bathhouse and make the trek over to Yennefer's location. Speak with her once you arrive and tell her that Imlerith was Ciri's idea. Work your way through the conversation to learn more about Yennefer's preparations and to begin the next quest.

- Keep reading for our guide to finishing The Great Escape, the next quest in the game.

- Stuck somewhere else? Head back to the first page for the rest of our Witcher 3 walkthrough.