A Knight's Tales

A Knight's Tales is a secondary quest in the Blood and Wine expansion.

Needed: Master Magicker!

I need a hard-hineyed man who won't spill his sphincter at the sight of sorcery and can give a witch a good fecking hiding if it comes to it. You'll find me chopping wood near Fox Hollow – my name's Jacob, and chopping wood's what I do.

All you poop-for-brains feckers who think you're jesters, I'm warning you, jesting's over.

Jacob, woodcutter of Fox Hollow.

Walkthrough

You can start the quest by either finding Jacob or his note on the notice board. After talking to Jacob himself about the matter examine the tree. The tree is indeed bleeding and by using your witcher senses you can hear it sobbing, after you are done with the investigation talk to Jacob again. You can haggle with him but you won't get much, Jacob will tell Geralt the story of the knight and witch from Lynx Crag, where Geralt must go to find a way to lift the curse and give him the book Tales and Fables, read it.

Lynx Crag

Once you reach the hill you will find a cave, inside you will encounter some Kikimores and their eggs which you can destroy with Igni. If you search the cave thoroughly you will find a chest to the right of the entrance on a higher plane, if you climb it to get the loot and use your witcher senses you will notice a body on another higher plane you can climb from there. If you examine the body you will find Sir Gareth's bone. Now climb out of the cave through the other exit, go left and climb the the wall there. After that follow the path and you will soon reach the hut. Inside you will find several objects, the one you are looking for is the bear pelt on the wall. Underneath you will find 4 objects among which is a handkerchief which Geralt will take, after which the home owner will appear. You will have 3 way to deal with the Witch of Lynx Crag, plead with her, threaten or tell her you can handle it on your own.

Force the Witch to help

Geralt will have to fight the Witch and her Panther, once she is almost dead she will give up and agree to lift the curse. Return to the Tree to find Jacob is missing. Use your witcher senses to find footprints, which will take you to his corpse. His dog Morholt has been possessed by the spirit and you will have to kill him. After which you can find 123 floren near Jacob's body.

Important: Taking this path will count as "Proof of Valor" for There Can Be Only One

Pleading or Self-reliance

The difference is that handling it on your own may fail, while pleading gives clear instructions on what to do. If you agree to the Witche's terms she will explain that you need Sir Gareth's bone for the ritual to succeed. If you already have it Geralt will mention it and the Witch will praise him for it. Regardless return to the tree and talk to Jacob, he will agree to help with the ritual. Now light up the fires in order and Geralt will throw the handkerchief into it and Sir Gareth's bone if you have it. If you don't have the bone Daphne will emerge from the tree as a Wraith and you will have to fight her. If you did she will appear as a Ghost and ask if Gareth remained faithful to her. Regardless what you answer she will thank you for your help and leave this world for good and Jacob will pay you.

Important: Successfully performing the ritual i.e. with Sir Gareth's bone will count as "Proof of Wisdom" for There Can Be Only One

Journal Entry

Geralt finds Jacob first:

In a loggers' clearing near the village of fox hollow, Geralt happened upon a lumberjack named Jacob. The man claimed to have recently discovered an enchanted tree that seemed straight out of Herreras Tales. He believed a young woman was imprisoned in the tree and desperately wished to free her. Though not one to believe fables and similar tales, Geralt nonetheless had to admit the tree was peculiar, for cut with an axe head it seeped not sap but human blood.

Geralt finds the notice first:

A short distance from Castel Ravello, Geralt happened on a notice posted by Jacob, a lumberjack. The logger was in search of someone who had no fear of spells and could thus face a witch. This was the very description of the witcher, no two ways about it, so it was no surprise that our hero took an interest in the notice and decided to visit Jacob.

Jacob proved a true expert on tales. The lumberjack readily explained to Geralt that the woman enchanted in the tree was Daphne, transformed out of great longing due to her deep love for the knight Gareth, whose return she awaited. Gareth had gone off to scale Lynx Crag, atop which he was to find the witch who dwelled there. He was to force her to lift the drought that plagued the land. Alas, the knight had not returned, and the tale from which the logger drew his knowledge said nothing about what had befallen the knight. If there was any answer to the mystery, it could only be found on Lynx Crag.

Geralt politely asks the witch for help and trades a lock of his hair, or lifts the curse himself with Sir Gareth's bone:

Geralt found the witch of Lynx Crag and did precisely what the knight from Herrera's tale was said to have done. He bowed before her and asked her for help. Though fussy, the witch seemed appeased and betrayed the manner in which the woman imprisoned in the tree could be freed. The success was bitter-sweet, however, as neither the witch nor the witcher could restore to the woman the life she had lost. Shortly after being freed, her spirit left this world, though it did so at peace with its fate.

Geralt lifts the curse himself, without Sir Gareth's bone:

Upon Lynx Crag the witcher encountered the witch, but he decided not to seek her aid in freeing the woman enchanted in the tree. Our hero decided he would employ his own devices to lift the curse. He managed to free Daphne's ghost, yet her specter was crazed and filled with pain. Geralt had no choice but to defeat it.

Geralt threatens the witch into helping:

Upon Lynx Crag the witcher encountered the witch and resolved to force her to help him. Defeated in combat, she pledged to free the cursed woman from the tree. Yet her pledge proved a ruse. Upon returning to the tree, the witcher found the lumberjack's cold corpse at its foot. Freed by the witch, the young woman's ghost, crazed with pain, had killed Jacob, then disappeared to parts unknown.

Objectives

Talk to Jacob the woodcutter.
Examine the bleeding tree.
Talk to Jacob the woodcutter. (50, Tales and Fables)
Go to Lynx Crag.
Search the hut using your Witcher Senses. (50)

Geralt politely asks the witch for help and trades a lock of his hair:

Find the entrance to the cave under Lynx Crag.
Find Sir Gareth's remains. (Sir Gareth's bone)
Return to the bleeding tree.
Talk to Jacob the woodcutter.
Light the southern fire.
Light the eastern fire.
Light the northern fire.
Light the western fire. (150, 100)

Geralt lifts the curse himself:

(Optional) Find Sir Gareth's remains in the cave underneath the Witch's house
Return to the bleeding tree.
Talk to Jacob the woodcutter.
Light the southern fire.
Light the eastern fire.
Light the northern fire.
Light the western fire.
(If you didn't bring Sir Gareth's bone) Defeat the wraith from the bleeding tree. (41+150, 100)

Geralt threatens the witch into helping:

Defeat the witch of Lynx Crag. (57)
Return to the bleeding tree.
Use your Witcher Senses to find Jacob the woodcutter's tracks.
Follow the tracks to find Jacob the woodcutter.
Kill Morholt. (6, was possessed by Daphne)
Examine the woodcutter's body. (150 + bag with 123 florens = 369)

Trivia

Daphne (Greek: "Laurel") and the transformation into a tree comes straight from Greek mythology, where Daphne is a Naiad, who is pursued by god of sun - Apollo. One of the best known writings is possibly Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid. The myth was also depicted in an opera by Richard Strauss and premiered 1938 in Dresden.
The title is a reference to The Knight's Tale, one of the many stories found within Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. While the tale has nothing in common with the quest, the themes of courtly love and knightly valor are reoccurring themes within the tale.

Notes

Examine everything before touching the bear hide. The option to ask the witch politely for help is only available if you discover and read "Tales and Fables", which explains the need for humility.
You can either work with the witch or do the task yourself to free her but if you anger the witch or forget the bones should you do it yourself, the wraith emerges and must be fought. Either way you can either free her soul or kill her wraith, there is not an option to set her free and keep her alive.
It is possible to take the bone of Sir Gareth from the cave even if you tell the witch that you will handle the curse by yourself. If you take the bone, the quest will go on as if you were humble with the witch and agreed to trade a lock of your hair.