Wild at Heart - Witcher 3 Quest

This guide is a walkthrough of a side quest in the Witcher 3 for the area of Velen. 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.

witcher 3 novigrad quest wild at heart map

1 – Crossing
2 – Blackbough
3 – Woods
4 – Isolated Cabin / Werewolf Cave

Background

You’ll receive this quest from the “Missing Wife” note attached to the notice board at the Crossroads in Velen North (#1).

Walkthrough

From the note, you’ll learn that Niellen’s wife Hanna is missing. To find out more about the disappearance, you should talk to Niellen and Hanna’s sister Margrit in Blackbough to the southwest (#2). They’ll tell you that Hanna has been gone for five days, and that nobody saw her leave, which means she probably left at night. They’ll also suggest that you talk to her friends in the village.

You’ll find two friends. Glenna will speculate that Hanna must have gone into the woods and gotten eaten by wolves, and the blacksmith’s children will tell you that they saw her go into the woods with another woman. So you’ll need to head into the woods northwest of Blackbough to begin your search.

When you enter to the woods (#3), you’ll get attacked by a group of wolves, and then Margrit will show up. She’ll offer to pay you if you just return to Niellen and tell him that Hanna is dead. This will give you a shortcut to complete the quest, should you want it. If you accept Margrit’s deal, then you’ll earn 55 crowns and 80 xp at the end of your conversation with her, plus 10 crowns and 50 xp (if you accept payment) or just 30 xp (if you refuse payment) when you return to Niellen.

If you reject Margrit’s deal, then you’ll need to continue with your search. When you turn on your witcher senses, you’ll find claw marks, an eviscerated dog, and a dead woman — possibly Hanna — in the area. You’ll decide that they must be the work of a werewolf. You’ll then need to do some more searching with your witcher senses. You’ll spot more evidence of the werewolf, and it will lead you to an isolated cabin to the northwest.

Inside the cabin (#4), you’ll find some Mysterious Notes on the floor, and they’ll indicate that the werewolf is Niellen. Then inside the cave under the cabin, you’ll encounter the werewolf plus a few regular wolves. All of the enemies will have silver health bars, meaning you should use your silver sword against all of them. Werewolves are also susceptible to Cursed Oil, and it’s a good idea to visit the grindstone and the armorer’s table in Blackbough for an even bigger boost. Luckily, you’ll find a fast travel sign right next to the cabin, so jumping back and forth to Blackbough is quick and easy.

The werewolf is big and strong, and it’ll regenerate its health. So you’ll need to fight it quickly so you damage it faster than it regenerates. The Viper Silver Sword (which you should have picked up in White Orchard) is useful for the fight, since its poison effect will help offset the regeneration. We also had luck using the Igni sign, both against the werewolf and the other wolves.

Once you’ve done enough damage to the werewolf, Margrit will show up again. She’ll reveal that she knew Niellen’s secret, that she’s in love with him anyway, and that she lured Hanna to the cave to show her Niellen turning. She’ll also claim that she only wanted to scare Hanna away rather than get her killed, but Niellen won’t believe her.

This will give you two ways to complete the quest:

You can let Niellen kill Margrit. Afterwards, he’ll ask you to kill him, and you’ll oblige in a cut scene.
You can continue fighting Niellen and finish him off through regular combat.

Either way, you’ll earn 50 xp at the end of the quest, and you’ll find a key on Niellen’s corpse. The key will allow you to loot the locked chest in the cabin above the cave, where you’ll find some random loot. But if you kill Niellen in combat, then he’ll drop werewolf bits, including a Werewolf Mutagen, and if you kill him in the cut scene, then he’ll only drop the key.