The Great Escape – Witcher 3 Quest

This guide is a walkthrough of a main quest of the Witcher 3 endgame. The guide is composed of a map, map legend, and walkthrough to show readers exactly where to go and what to do to complete the quest.

Map Legend

1 – Crippled Kate’s
2 – Rooftop
3 – Chameleon
4 – Yennefer
5 – Working Lever
6 – Broken Lever
7 – Crumbling Wall
8 – Locked Gate
9 – Sewer Key
10 – Rita’s Cell
11 – Staircases to the Courtyard / Warden

Exits

1. One-way sewer entrance.
2. Sewer exits.
3. Prison entrance.

Background

You’ll trigger this quest when you talk to Yennefer during the quest Final Preparations. You’ll find Yennefer inside Crippled Kate’s brothel in Novigrad (#1).

Walkthrough

Yennefer will tell you that the sorceress Margarita (aka Rita) was captured and sent to Deireadh prison in Oxenfurt, but that Abbe Faria, the one man who managed to escape from the prison, will be in the brothel soon. Faria will then show up at the bar, but when he sees you, he’ll run away and you’ll have to give chase. So just follow Faria — or if you lose him then just follow the quest markers — as they lead you up into the Novigrad rooftops (#2). You won’t be able to catch Faria (even if you’re right on top of him), but eventually Yennefer will teleport to him and subdue him.

When Faria realizes that you’re not trying to send him back to prison, he’ll return with you to Crippled Kate’s, and he’ll start talking. You’ll learn two things of interest from Faria: that the guards drink while they’re on duty, and that you can get into the prison via the sewers. You’ll earn 200 xp at the end of the conversation, and Yennefer will ask you to meet her in Oxenfurt in Velen North.

Before heading to Oxenfurt, you might want to talk to Zoltan at the Chameleon (#3). If you didn’t complete the quest Now or Never, then you’ll be able to convince him to deliver some Mahakaman ale to Deireadh, which will reduce the number of guards you’ll have to face in the prison. But if you completed the quest, then Zoltan will point out that these are dangerous times for nonhumans, and he’ll decline to go.

When you meet with Yennefer in Oxenfurt (#4), she’ll lead you to a well, which will give you access to the sewers. Yennefer won’t go into the sewers with you, but she’ll give you a Magic Trinket from Yennefer. The trinket will allow you to signal her — and her to teleport to you — once you’ve found Rita.

To enter the sewers, you’ll have to jump down into the well (Exit A). Once inside, you’ll have to deal with a few things as you make your way to the prison (Exit C). You’ll encounter some drowners, ghouls and other monsters, you’ll spot some treasure chests ($), you’ll find a broken lever (#6) that you’ll have to fix by grabbing a working Lever from another part of the sewers (#5), and you’ll come to a crumbling wall (#7) that you’ll have to knock down using your weapon or Aard.

Note: You won’t be able to pick up the working Lever until you’ve discovered the broken lever.

Inside the prison, you’ll have to fight a few witch hunters, but you’ll quickly come to Rita’s cell (#10). Rita will tell you that you’ll only be able to open her cell using the Cell Key, which the prison warden always carries on his person. You’ll find the warden — plus about a dozen witch hunters and soldiers — in the prison courtyard, which you can reach by going up a couple of staircases (#11). The warden will drop the Cell Key when he dies.

Note: If you climb the ramparts of the courtyard to reach the prison warden’s bedroom, then you’ll find a List of Prisoners, which will indicate that Rita was scheduled for “enhanced interrogation.”

When you open up Rita’s cell, Yennefer will teleport into the prison and take her away. This will earn you 300 xp. Yennefer won’t be able to teleport you out as well, so you’ll have to find a more mundane exit. To that end, you should pick up the Sewer Key (#9), use in to open a locked gate (#8), and then pick an exit from the sewers (Exits B). When you escape from the sewers, you’ll complete the quest and earn 300 xp.

Note: You can also free the other prisoners, but to do that you’ll have to open their cells before freeing Rita. Once Rita has departed, the Cell Key will disappear from your inventory.

Another Note: If you completed the quest Now or Never, then Sile de Tansarville will be in Rita’s cell along with Rita. But Sile will be dying, and the game will force either you or Yennefer to end her suffering.

1 – Crippled Kate’s

2 – Rooftop

3 – Chameleon

4 – Yennefer

5 – Working Lever

6 – Broken Lever

7 – Crumbling Wall

8 – Locked Gate

You’ll need the Sewer Key (#9) to unlock this gate.

9 – Sewer Key

Along with the key that you’ll find here, you might also discover the three missable gwent cards from the quest A Dangerous Game (if you failed to acquire them during that earlier quest).

10 – Rita’s Cell

11 – Staircases to the Courtyard / Warden

Exits

1. One-way sewer entrance.
2. Sewer exits.
3. Prison entrance.