Another year has passed in which Morkvarg plagues our goddess' gardens. Whoever musters the courage to eliminate this evil will gain fame amongst mortals and the favor of the immortals, as well as a prize from the temple's vault.
Once picked up, go talk to Josta at the nearby Temple of Freya, who informs you killing Morkvarg will be no ordinary feat: apparently he's been killed many times before only to keep coming back after each time. Undoubtedly, this signifies a powerful curse is in place. Inquiring further reveals it was allegedly cast by the late archpriestess Ulve, who, on her dying breath, curse Morkvarg for all his foul deals, but in particular for attacking Freya's Garden, a sacred place. To learn more though you can talk with Einar, a pilgrim on that fateful day who happened to survive the events.
Head to Larvik's harbor to find him getting ready to set sail. He'll tell you how he remembered Ulve uttering the curse that transformed Morkvarg into a werewolf and proceeded to attack his men but couldn't devour any of them as they turned to ash in his mouth. Despite it all, Einar escaped, though a few things still seem off with his story.
If you haven't already, investigate the garden where you must make your way around the entire inside perimeter before coming across a mechanism to reveal the entrance to Morkvarg's liar. Inside, you'll find the werewolf talking to himself about a lost key. You can either choose to attack him now or go find the key.
If you attack him, once you get his health down enough he'll talk with you, explaining his predicament: constant, everlasting hunger, undying existence, the fact that all he eats turns to ash, and that eating his own flesh burns his throat. The beast then pleads for you to free him of the curse and he'll reward you with treasure. You can then either choose to leave him, slay him, or feed him. If he is fed any normal food, it will turn to ash. If Geralt leaves or slays him, he will die and disappear leaving some loot along with some werewolf meat and any of the food if he was fed.
If you choose to find the key, or wish to find it after initially dealing with Morkvarg, go and dive dow and enter the underwater entrance to find the flooded cave underneath Morkvarg's lair. Amidst the bones you'll find the Padlock key that Morkvarg mentioned. This is very useful as it'll let you back into the main courtyard area near the tree instead of having to run laps around the garden. However, what you really want now is to head into the only building in the garden and unlock the rooms to find Morkvarg's journal. Read it to learn the real reason Einar survived: he was once part of Morkvarg's crew but forfeited his share of the loot out of fear of Freya's wrath.
Head out and confront Einar, where you can either fight or reason with him. If you reason with him, you learn he actually cursed Morkvarg: drawing the line at killing the priestesses, he used a cursed fang pendant to cut and curse Morkvarg. To remove the curse, one simply needs to give Morkvarg the cursed fang but Einar will refuse to give it up, not wanting the curse to be lifted. You can either choose to convince him or fight him now. If you convince him, he'll make one request: kill Morkvarg once you lift the curse. Regardless how you go about the conversation (or fight) you'll still be able to get the cursed fang off of him. If you choose to fight and kill Einar before he tells how he cursed Morkvarg you will be able to loot the cursed fang from him, however the dialogue option to give the cursed fang to Morkvarg won't appear. In this case you must feed him his own flesh to lift the curse.
Head back where, no matter what, you'll need to fight Morkvarg to calm him down again. You now have a choice here: lift the curse with the fang or feed him the werewolf meat, which would kill him immediately. If you use the werewolf meat, you'll gain 50 and can then go talk to Josta for 50 and 85 .
If you decide to use the fang, Morkvarg will put it on, lifting the curse for 80 , and he'll rejoice before proclaiming he'll return to raiding the seas. You can now either choose to fight him (85 ) or ask about the reward (80 ). If you want the reward but still want to kill him, ask about the reward first, and he'll point you to the Loan Shark in Novigrad. You can then choose to kill him as he leaves or let him go.
Whether or not you kill Morkvarg after asking for his reward, you can still go to the pawn shop in Novigrad and claim the reward (50, Deithwen, and Torn-out page: Werewolf decoction). Once the reward is claimed, you can then go back to Josta at Freya's Temple and claim her reward as well (50 and 85 ).
Journal entry
If quest is started from the notice board:
The Skellige Isles have a long and rich history. Scattered throughout their rocky lands are many mysterious ruins, elven relics, ancient woods, and natural marvels. One of the places that most stuck in Geralt's memory was the abandoned garden near Freya's temple. Geralt discovered it by accident, and found there was work waiting for him within - a powerful monster prowled inside its crumbling walls.
If quest is started through the main quest:
Ciri's trail had led Geralt and Yennefer to a derelict garden in Skellige. There they hoped to find the man called Craven, who alone could provide answers to their burning questions. Unfortunately, they were first greeted by an entirely different individual - a monster known as Morkvarg. It seemed Geralt once more would have to stain his silver sword with blood.
Freya's garden - once the pride of Hindarsfjall, nay, of all the Isles - had fallen into ruin. This had happened on account of a certain Morkvarg, a cruel pirate for whom nothing was sacred. The punishment for his deeds was a curse that transformed him into a monster and imprisoned him inside the garden walls. There he roamed for years until Freya's priestesses decided it was time to get rid of him for good. They promised a generous reward to any brave man who could drive him off - or, better yet, kill him.
If Geralt feeds Morkvarg his own meat:
Geralt decided to try an innovative curse-lifting method - feeding the werewolf his own flesh. Geralt's efforts were a partial success. The curse was lifted, but Morkvarg died without ever reassuming his human form. Considering the hideous deeds this cruel pirate had wrought, one's heart does not exactly burst with pity for him.
If Geralt lifts the curse with the fang and kills Morkvarg immediately:
Geralt tracked down one of Morkvarg's former companions who lived in Larvik. His jaw dropped to learn this man - and not, as was commonly thought, Freya's high priestess - had cast the curse on the infamous pirate. The man also possessed an object he claimed could lift the curse. Geralt took it from him, and used it to return Morkvarg the human form - thus rendering him mortal. Geralt then struck an expert blow to hasten the inevitable end this condition implied. Clearly he felt that years of insatiable hunger were not punishment for this man's many sins.
If Geralt lifts the curse with the fang and doesn't kill Morkvarg immediately:
Geralt tracked down one of Morkvarg's former companions who lived in Larvik. His jaw dropped to learn this man - and not, as was commonly thought, Freya's high priestess - had cast the curse on the infamous pirate. The man also possessed an object he claimed could lift the curse. Geralt took it from him, and used it to return Morkvarg the human form - and then let him go free. This might strike you as strange, dear reader, considering this former pirate's many sins and complete unwillingless to reform. Remember, however, that it is a witcher's job to kill monsters, not people, no matter how rotten they might be.
Objectives
Talk to the priestess Josta about Morkvarg.
Talk to Einar about the curse.
Find the garden where the monster dwells.
Find Morkvarg.
Find the key Morkvarg mentioned using your Witcher Senses.
Get rid of the werewolf in the garden.
If you decided to feed Morkvarg with werewolf meat:
Use Morkvarg's flesh to get rid of the werewolf, or find another way to lift the curse.
Kill Morkvarg by feeding him his own flesh, or lift the curse using the fang.
Collect your reward from the contract giver.
If you decided to investigate further and lift the curse:
Find a way into the flooded cave under Morkvarg's lair.
Search the cave using your Witcher Senses.
Unlock the chapter house doors.
Search the chapter house.
Read Morkvarg's journal.
Ask Einar of Larvik why he lied to you about Morkvarg.
If you decide to engage and kill Einar:
Kill Einar and his helpers.
If you decide to investigate further and lift the curse:
Use the fang to lift Morkvarg's curse, or find another way to lift it.
Collect your reward from the pawnshop in Novigrad.
Notes
Either a bug or intentionally, if you don't kill Morkvarg right after asking about the reward, you won't be able to get the additional rewards from the Loan Shark.
The journal entry won't update if you strike Morkvarg down after lifting the curse, causing some odd comments from Skelligers.
If asked about the reward and then killed Morkvarg as he walks away, you'll have both journal entries for killing and not killing him.
Videos
The Witcher 3 Morkvarg the Werewolf Boss Fight (Hard Mode)
and can then go talk to Josta for 50
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