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Now or Never is a secondary quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Note: this quest will fail if not completed before starting The Isle of Mists.

Walkthrough

Meet Triss

When Geralt arrives at Triss' apartment, there are two temple guards and a witch hunter outside. If Geralt interacts with them and tells them to mind their manners, they will become hostile. If Geralt chooses the other dialogue option, they will allow him to leave.

When Geralt enters the apartment, Triss is being hassled by the homeowners who sheltered her, demanding she give them her necklace as pay since the risk for sheltering a mage has increased dramatically. Geralt can either choose to step in, or do nothing. Afterwards Triss explains to Geralt that she's in a bind: she has to evacuate the mages as soon as possible, but two of them haven't reported in and she is worried they have been turned in. Triss must either risk everybody to try and save the two, or leave them to a certain death. Geralt can make the choice here by advising Triss on the matter.

Follow Triss

If Geralt did not kill the guards prior to entering of Triss' apartment, the guards will ambush the pair as they exit the building. After the fight is over, Geralt and Triss continue on, but must stop and wait for a patrol to pass before continuing on. If he chose not to save Berthold and Anisse, then Geralt and Triss head straight for the Kingfisher, where Olivier will let them into the basement. If Geralt chose to save the two, he and Triss head to the couple's hideout, where they have to defeat the witch hunters before they kill the mages (10XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level). After the fight, Geralt will get a chance to use Axii on the two mages to convince them to follow him to the inn (40XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level). However, due to the time spent rescuing the mages, Geralt will arrive too late and Olivier will die(10XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level).

Enter the mage's hideout and follow Triss

Mages and the like have gathered here, ready to go to the port through the sewers. Sigismind Dijkstra is there as well, not to flee Novigrad, but to help the mages on their way, and at the same time to assure he'll have some friends and allies amongst them once they reach safety. Triss makes a speech to rally the mages before outlining the plan for escape.

Find a path through the sewers

Geralt and Triss must then clear a safe path through the sewers so the others can follow their trail and reach the ship. After killing several drowners along the way, Geralt comes to a wall that can be opened using Aard, revealing an ancient library. Geralt and Triss then kill more drowners and several swarms of rats before finding corpses. Investigating these leads Geralt to conclude that a katakan is lurking nearby. Triss provides support, but Geralt still needs to beware of this vampire's regenerative abilities. After eliminating it (25XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level), Geralt and Triss make their way to the the docks (10XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level).

Meet Dijkstra at the port

On the docks, Dijkstra starts a conversation, only to be interrupted by several witch hunters who must be defeated. Triss starts to say farewell and Geralt is left with a choice. If he says farewell to Triss, then she boards the ship and leaves with the mages. Dijkstra then offers to tell about his romance with a sorceress. If Geralt asks Triss to stay and tells Triss he loves her after romancing her during the previous quest, she comes back as Dijkstra is talking. Geralt and Triss then escape to a lighthouse for a private moment together (300XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level).

Note: if Geralt has already romanced Yennefer in The Last Wish, he will lose them both if he romances Triss in this quest, or if he subsequently romances Yennefer after committing to Triss here.

Journal Entry

Novigrad was once famed as a place of tolerance and the rule of law. That is why it attracted mages from all over the world, those persecuted by Radovid and Emhyr alike. The Free City did not live up to their hopes, however, and rather than being a safe haven it became their slaughterhouse.
Triss Merigold, with whom you, dear reader, are already well acquainted, decided to evacuate all mages still alive to a place far removed from the front lines - Kovir. This was no simple task, and so the sorceress asked the witcher for help. Geralt agreed out of concern for the persecuted mages' fate - and Triss' fate most of all...
When it seemed the mages were finally safe and would set sail for Kovir's snow-covered shores, witch hunters swarmed over the docks and attacked their ship. Like setters who track down hares in even the deepest burrows, they had picked up Triss' trail despite her painstaking efforts to cover it. Luckily, Geralt stood in defense of the mages - as did, surprisingly, Dijkstra, for whom "love thy neighbor" had never been a guiding principle, nor the fate of the mages a matter of particular importance.
If Geralt tells Triss he loves her:
With the witch hunters dispatched, the time had come to say goodbye. Geralt sensed his heart accelerate as he realized he might never see Triss again. The thought was unbearable, so before it could overwhelm him, instead of bidding her farewell, he asked her to stay. Though the circumstances on the blood-spattered docks were decidedly unromantic, in that instant all the feelings between Geralt and Triss came rushing back in full force.
If Geralt lets Triss go:
With the witch hunters taken care of, the time had come to say goodbye. Though much had bound Geralt and Triss in the past, on this black day, on the blood-slicked planks of the Novigrad harbor, their paths parted. Witcher and sorceress would, true enough, meet again on several occasions, but only ever as friends. Their flight from the Eternal Fire had been the last flicker of the fires of their mutual affection.

Objectives

  • Read the mysterious perfumed letter
  • Meet Triss
  • Kill the Eternal Fire guardsmen
  • Follow Triss
  • The following objectives only apply if Geralt searches for Berthold and Anisse:
    • Follow Triss to Berthold and Anisse's hideout
    • Kill the witch hunters
    • Follow Triss
  • Enter the mage's hideout and follow Triss
  • Enter the sewers
  • Find a path through the sewers
  • Find a way across the rats' feeding ground
  • Meet Dijkstra at the port
  • Kill the witch hunters

Notes

  • If Geralt decides to go find Anisse and Berthold, the innkeep Olivier dies. If you wish to complete Gwent: Playing Innkeeps and Collect 'Em All, make sure to play Gwent with Olivier beforehand.
  • If Olivier the Innkeeper at the Kingfisher Inn died during Now or Never, his unique card will be located in the room next to the bar and the unnamed Innkeep, in a small lockbox over the cabinet.
  • After Triss gives her speech to the other mages in the hideout, using the hidden door at the top of the steps and returning to the first floor of The Kingfisher will temporarily fail the quest objectives "Enter the sewers." and "Find a path through the sewers.". Returning to Triss near the sewer entrance will remove the fail marks; however, this may cause either or both objectives to not update properly as Geralt progresses into the sewer.
  • If Geralt does not choose to romance Triss, allowing her to leave Novigrad, and has not already completed the quests "The Nobleman Statuette" and "The Soldier Statuette", he must wait until they meet again after The Battle of Kaer Morhen, back at the Chameleon, to complete them. Note that, unlike A Matter of Life and Death, Geralt isn't given a dialogue option to start this quest; it begins automatically as soon as he approaches Triss in her boarding house, so these quests must be completed before triggering that one if the player doesn't want to wait.

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