This guide is an overview of the first areas of chapter 1 in The Witcher 2. It has a map, legend, and walkthrough to aid players in their gaming.
Flotsam and Lobinden – Overview
This section covers the points of interest in Flotsam, the port town, and Lobinden, the small village outside the walls to the right. Almost all of the quests mentioned are discussed in further detail on their own pages.
1 – Town entrance, Guard
On your first visit to Flotsam, while still being under the assault from the Scoia’tael, you’ll be interrupted by a guard here who is related to main quests A Rough Landing and By the Gods – Stringing Up Sods.
2 – Prison barge
This particular ship is going to be used much later in the act, during the main quests The Assassins of Kings and The Floating Prison. The ship is full of prisoners that Loredo has accumulated over the time.
3 – Merchant in purple robes and gray cap
This merchant is interesting in sponsoring you and Sile for slaying the kayran. He is directly involved in the main quest The Kayran: A Matter of Price, which you receive on the docks after the main quest By the Gods – Stringing Up Sods.
4 – Mysterious merchant
In case you have latest patch (and you should), there will be a merchant here who sells formidable gear for a price. In Act I he sells 
Robust Cutlass , 
Robust Witcher’s Silver Sword and 
Shiadhal’s armor (a very good armor early on for spell-casting witchers) along with weapon runes and a number of diagrams for composite crafting materials.
5 – Matthias
This, most likely, merchant is totally terrified by your appearance that, whenever you approach him, he screams for the guards as he doesn’t want to be seen with “a mutant who’s pursuing him”. Has no impact on anything.
6 – Entrance to Loredo’s compound
You can enter this place only once if the guards in front relieve you of your weapons and put them in the chest next to them. You need to enter this place three times: during the main quests Indecent Proposal,Death to the Traitor! and side quest Fight Club.
7 – Vencel Pugg, on the lower level of the docks
This merchant says that he has an offer for you and gives a side quest called The Scent of Incense.
8 – Special Forces garrison
This house serves as a base for Roche’s Blue Stripes and you can also start a side quest called Hung Over after talking to Cedric about the river monster during the main quest The Kayran. The house is empty until then.
9 – Thaler’s courier
If you’re playing a game where you’ve let Thaler live in the first game, you’ll meet this fellow who has a package and a message for you from Thaler. Message is about how you should stick close to Roche and the package consists of 
Formula: Dragon’s Dream, Formula: Dancing Star and a book called 
The Arachas – A Study.
10 – Cousins of the La Valette civilians
In case you saved the civilians during one of the prologue stories and asked no reward, you’ll be greeted by some relatives here and they’ll offer you a reward 
Heavy Leather Jacket which you can refuse or take. You get no experience for either of the options. This also finally concludes Woe to the Vanquished side quest from prologue.
11 – Tavern
Taverns always boast a lot of people and various events. On the main floor you’ll find Zoltan, Dandelion, Triss and Roche, whenever they aren’t with you on some of the (main) quests. Apart from them, the main floor has a bartenders Lyudmila and Marty Beaver, whom you can trade with. It also is a starting location for arm wrestling competition in Act I, described in side quest Bring It On: Flotsam.
Once you descend to lower level, you’ll find another two bartenders there, Dyson Beaver and Sunshine. The lower level also has prostitutes (Julia, Arnesse and Miriana) with whom you can have sex for a hundred orens, and it is also the starting place for side quests One on One: Flotsam, Poker Face: Flotsam and Fight Club.
You’ll also find a mysterious monk named M in one of the corners with whom you can play dice poker with to unlock a link to the site goodoldmonk.com with discounts on some Atari titles (this seems to be bugged in the latest build).
Another important resident down here is Margot, the matron of prostitutes. Her role becomes more important much later on. You can also find her notes which describe her dealings with Scoia’tael, but again, you won’t be able to mention any of this until much later. Patch 1.35 added storage chests, and it’s located in the lower level of the tavern (or you can talk to the bartender down there to access it that way).
On the upper level (accessed outside the inn), Sile de Tansarville has her shelter. She’s an important person during The Kayran quest series.
12 – Notice Board
Approach this notice board to acquire five documents, three of them being contracts side quests
– The Nekker Contract
– The Endrega Contract
– Troll Trouble (which is added in 1.1 patch as free DLC)
– A document by Cedric about the two missing people (after you talk to him about the kayran)
– A document describing that a certain Dmitri is free of all charges and law boundaries (he’s obviously a bandit; involved in the side quest Troll Trouble)
13 – Main (gallows) square
This square is the place of happenings during the quest By the Gods – Stringing Up Sods.
14 – Vilmos Bartok
This alchemist sells various ingredients and diagrams. He’s involved in the side quests Little Shop of Dreams and The Scent of Incense.
15 – Angry townsfolk
An angry group of townsfolk will appear here once you’ve acquired or done the side quest The Scent of Incense. The elderly woman clad in black will be able to give you a side quest Little Shop of Dreams.
16 – Fioravanti
Fioravanti’s a merchant who has several useful diagrams and formulae. He moans about the current state of Flotsam and that the kayran blocks all trade, while Geralt tells him that it’s all just a shadowy politics play. You can also play poker with him, though it has no effect on the poker side quest.
17 – Town chancellor, Louis Merse
He’s involved in three side quests: Mystic River, The Nekker Contract and The Endrega Contract. He’s also the one who wrote the free pass for Dmitri, the bandit.
18 – Bandits
This group of three bandits will try to collect the bounty on your head for killing the king. Simply deal with them any way you like, they aren’t dangerous.
19 – Einar Gausel
Einar is a bookseller. As such, he has a modest selection of books, which you should read if you want to find out more about the lore of the game. In any case, if you didn’t find/read the books on drowners, endregas, arachas, wraiths, kayran and nekkers you should do it once you visit him, as those are the monsters that populate Act I. Of course, if your economy allows it, read the other monster books as well. By knowing monster lore you can extract more ingredients and sometimes it’s necessary for quests (for example you can destroy nekker nests only if you have knowledge on nekkers).
Einar is also a prominent poker player and you can play him once you beat the starters in the tavern. In patch 1.2, he also holds the haircut service.
20 – Adam and Brady
These two alchemists want you to test their product and then pay them a visit in Vizima in a year or two. You can either accept this or refuse. Accepting the offer gives you a free 
Critical Effects Mutagen.
21 – Berthold Candeleria
This dwarven blacksmith has a wide array of weapon diagrams and made weapons, of which the most useful is Diagram: Jagged Blade, which gives the best steel sword in Act I: 
Jagged Blade. He’s also a crafter of course, and you can play dice poker with him, but it has no effect on the poker side quest.
22 – Cedric
Cedric is an old elf who provides crafter’s and merchant services. Being an ex-Scoia’tael, he knows a lot about the elves and their goals, along with general lore of Flotsam, Lobinden and their surroundings. He’s also a prophet and awfully reeks of alcohol. It is later revealed that he drinks heavily to suppress his visions.
Once you meet him for the first time, he’ll also tell you about a missing woman named Moril, though you won’t be able to do much about it until later. He also starts the side quest In the Claws of Madness, and is involved in the main quest The Kayran quest series.
23 – Chorab
Chorab is Lobinden’s village mayor and he’s involved in the side quest Troll Trouble.
24 – Sendler
Sendler is a skilled crafter and merchant. He’s the top contestant during the Poker Face: Flotsam side quest and he’s also involved in the side quest Troll Trouble.
25 – Bartholomew Bargee
This fellow is the best arm wrestler around during the side quest Bring It On: Flotsam. Once you reach the phase when you can wrestle him, you can wrestle him over and over again when you see him return to his boat. He also seems to be genuinely annoyed by his mother.
26 – Anezka
Anezka sells formulae and herbs. There are some particular herbs which will come in handy later on during the side quest Hung Over, so you might as well get them as soon as you’re over there in her hut: Wolf’s Aloe, Green Mold and White Myrtle Petals (you should have the from all the herbs you picked).
She’s also involved in the side quest Melitele’s Heart, which is about purifying Newboy’s talisman or selling it to her.
27 – Malena and soldiers
This elven girl and the soldiers start up a side quest called Malena, which investigates mysterious deaths of the soldiers who followed Malena to one cave near Flotsam.
28 – Training dummies
Destroying at least ten different training dummies gives the ability 
Experienced, which increases all experience earned by 10%. There are five more in the prologue, and 4 more in Act III. This act contains eight (four pairs of two). There’s also a Circle of Power near #28b.
