Hard Times is a secondary quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Walkthrough[]
This quest can be started on the road between Blandare and Miners' Camp. You'll know you're at the right spot when you run into a cyclops near an overturned wagon.
Once the threat is dealt with, examine the corpse and dead horse, which will then update the search area. Just on the other side of the road you'll find a trail of footprints and blood splatters until you find a second corpse. Prior to Patch 4.0, you'd have to fight a group of nekkers on the trail, but after it there are a couple of ghouls directly over the body instead. Once the enemies are dead, loot the corpse for a letter to Yanne.
Head to Kaer Trolde keep to speak to the blacksmith. Bug: note that this character tends to be bugged, either not appearing or not available to talk to. You may have to save and meditate a couple times before you can finally interact with him during the day.
Talk with Yanne and he'll ask how you found the letter. If you tell him he'd rather not know he'll assume you robbed and killed his family and will refuse to do business with you. The quest will then reward 25 before completing.
If you tell him the truth, he'll still refuse to do business with you for a time but will thank Geralt for informing him and will give you 20 along with 25 , completing the quest.
Journal entry[]
- Perhaps there was a time, under the pax of a just ruler or before the Conjunction brought so many hideous beasts to our world, when traveling was a perfectly safe endeavor. If so, that time is now long past. The Skelligers whose demolished wagon Geralt stumbled across in the middle of the Ard Skellig forest learned this the hard way. The poor souls had stood no chance against the cyclops who butchered them.
- Geralt searches nearly every corpse he comes across, and while I personally find this habit a bit morbid, I must admit he digs up some very interesting things in the pockets of the dead. This time, for example, he found a letter that he promptly delivered to its addressee - the smith at Kaer Trolde. It was from the smith's departed sister. Though it cast the man into deep mourning, he appreciated Geralt's deed.
Objectives[]
- Investigate the broken cart using your Witcher Senses.
- Use your Witcher Senses to follow the tracks leading away from the broken cart.
- Read the letter you found on the dead woman's body.
- Deliver the letter to the smith at Kaer Trolde.
Bug[]
- There's a bug where Geralt can't talk or give the letter to the blacksmith. Meditating or saving and reloading will allow Geralt to speak with him in this case.
Notes[]
- After about a week, the blacksmith will interact normally again.