Spooked Mare

Spooked Mare

Spooked Mare is a secondary quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Walkthrough

At the hut north-northwest of the Crossroads signpost near Oxenfurt, you'll find a man who calls out to you for help. Talk to him to learn he believes a "woodland spook" has stolen his gray horse. You can ask a bit more and he'll note only recently have horses gone missing, including a neighbor's. You can then agree to help or not.

Right near where the man was standing you'll indeed find drops of blood, but not much else to go on this. Further south near the open pen you'll find hoofprints that you can then follow by foot or on Roach, eventually reaching a hidden pen with horses and Scoia'tael guarding over them. If you talk to the commander you'll learn they're stealing the horses to try and transport their wounded. You now have several choices here:

• enter the pen without talking to the commander, or threatening to take one without using another option, will result in a fight with all 4 Scoia'tael
• Talk to the commander and use Axii (requires Delusion level 2, earns 35 )
• Talk to the commander and pay him 100 (earns 10 )
• Say they need it more than the owner (earn nothing, ends quest)

As long as you didn't agree for them to keep the horse, you'll earn 25 but then need to select the man's horse. The correct one is the gray one, however this is one of the few times you can get it wrong and be rewarded more. If you fought the Scoia'tael you'll also earn an additional 25 on selecting a horse here.

Note: even if you agreed for them to keep the horse, you can still enter the pen and take one, which will re-activate the quest, earning 25 but turning the Scoia'tael hostile. You can then carry on as normal in returning it home, earning the other 25 once the hostiles are dead or you escaped from them.

Whichever horse you choose, ride it back and enter the pen next to the home, then talk to the man. If it was the correct one, he'll acknowledge it's his missing mare and asks the horse where she's been, before giving you 25 and 20 . If you picked another horse though, he'll note it's not the correct one (his was far older) but will pay you more for the younger horse you got him, giving you 25 and 50 . Regardless which horse you got, the quest will then complete. Note: if you told the elves to keep the horse but then stole it back, you can instead tell the man you couldn't find his horse, which will fail the quest.

Journal entry

Geralt met a man who claimed one of his horses had been stolen by some kind of woodland spook. The witcher promised to bring back the missing mare.

If Geralt fights the Scoia'tael or takes one by force:

Geralt ventured deep into the woods in his search for the stolen horse. There he came across a Scoia'tael camp. These elves, and not a spook, had stolen the missing horse. The Witcher was determined to recover the villager's lost property, but the Scoia'tael were equally determined to keep their takings. Sadly, no agreement could be reached before weapons were drawn and blood was shed.

If Geralt decides they need the horse more than the owner:

Geralt ventured deep into the woods in his search for the stolen horse. There he came across a Scoia'tael camp. These elves, and not a spook, had stolen the missing horse. The Witcher was determined to recover the villager's lost property, but the Scoia'tael were equally determined to keep their takings. Luckily, Geralt managed to strike a deal with them and no blood was shed over the matter.

If the right horse was picked:

Geralt recovered the stolen horse and took it back to its owner for his reward. The grateful man paid him as promised.

Objectives

• Find the missing horse using your Witcher Senses.
• If you fight the Scoia'tael:
  • Defeat the Scoia'tael.
• If you take one of the horses:
  • Lead the horse into the enclosure.
  • Talk to the owner.

Bugs

• Oddly, the journal entry for a peaceful resolution won't appear unless one lets the Scoia'tael keep the horse entirely (regardless if you pay them or use Axii).
• One can't tell the owner they couldn't find the horse if they let the Scoia'tael keep it unless they actually steal one back after agreeing the elves could keep the mare.

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