The Man from Cintra is a main quest in the Blood and Wine expansion.
Walkthrough[]
Make your way to the Tailor's Workshop's to pick up some suitable clothes if you wish, or head straight for Mountebank Alley. If you go during the night, on the way you may encounter four bandits seeking the reward on your head, confirming Damien's earlier words were true. The nearby guards will help in the fight and you can loot them as well to find a contract, just to clarify the point.
If you don't have any suitable clothes and want to, go to the tailor. Any formal attire except the Skellige one works, even other formal wear like the ornate robe from the Hearts of Stone expansion (which will lead to a remark from Anna Henrietta later). Don't bother buying a mask as none of them are correct. Once you have everything, equip your new attire and head to the alley.
When you arrive, the duchess is nowhere in sight, so you must wait for her. When she does, she'll comment on your attire and then give you the appropriate mask to wear. You can then talk to the doorman to learn a bit more about the performances before heading in.
Here, you can take part in a number of activities. As it doesn't matter how few or many you do (what happens in the quest will happen regardless) feel free to look around some. The optional activities include:
- throwing paint balls at the canvas (just to the left of the stairs)
- interacting with the mimes (just in front of the stairs)
- absinthe sample on various tables
- light a lantern on the back railing
There's several others you can do that don't show up as markers, like watching the master illusionist. Once you're ready, head into the first alcove on the left side (if facing towards the back railing) to find a painter at work. You can talk first about the painting that leads to some interesting tidbits. Regardless, you learn this isn't Cecilia, but she did see Cecilia with the Cintrian wander off to the refreshment tables. Head over there where there's a few things to examine, but what you want is on the table, the heart-shaped box. Using your Witcher Senses, follow the scent all the way around the courtyard and through a door to find a bodyguard. However, before you can figure out another way, the bodyguard recognizes the duchess' voice and offers to help, letting you go upstairs. While there's several doors, the perfume trail (and the other two being locked) indicates the middle door as Cecilia's room. Head in for a cutscene.
You can examine the body and a handprint on the door frame. Head out onto the balcony and cross over to the next balcony where you can also examine the broken pot and footprints before heading around and climbing up the ladder and entering the next room. Here, there's a number of things you need to examine: the mirror, blood stain, jewelry box, broken necklace (which will then let you pick up the valuable jewel beside it), the slashed painting, the knife near the door, the knocked over inkwell, the candelabrum near the window, and the blood on the window's ledge. Once you have the knife and jewel, and have examined the window, a cutscene and a long conversation begins. Respond however you wish to everything before Regis and Dettlaff appear. You'll have a timed reaction choice here before pulling Regis aside for a private conversation, then back to the others before eventually ending the quest. (1500)
While the quest may be finished, you can go find the Cintrian's body if you wish for a small comment by Geralt. To find it, go to the intersection that's east of Orianna's estate and look among the lower part of the cliffs to find the body. If reading this beforehand, you can easily mark its approximate location while looking out the window he went through.
Journal entry[]
- It seemed as if matters had come to a head and the witcher would finally face he who had for some time succeeded in slinking from Geralt's grip like a snake. The Cintrian was to appear at a soirée hosted by "Mandragora" - an exclusive club that brought together all manner of artists who thought very highly of themselves. As I see it, they were a host of individuals whom nature had denied any significant talent. Thus, they opted not to produce more and better work, but instead to whimper into the ears of wealthy patrons - a practice for which I have always had the utmost contempt. But back to the Cintrian - Geralt and Anna Henrietta decided they would attend the soirée and nab this scoundrel dog.
- The witcher was largely unaccustomed to battles in which lies, flattery and the occasional petty insult served as the combatants' chief arms. Yet with the aid of Anarietta (much better acquainted with this type of combat - mean retorts being her weapon of choice), he managed to blend into the members of Beauclair's boheme who had assembled and mingle largely unnoticed. Together, the duchess and the witcher searched for the Cintrian. He had reportedly arrived for the evening with the famed singer Cecilia Bellante on his arm. Alas, poor Cecilia had not known the evening would end in tragedy for her. Geralt found her, her throat cut just moments before, and set off in pursuit of her murderer.
- The Cintrian had appeared that evening to steal the Heart of Toussaint, a ducal jewel in the possession of Orianna, the soirée's host. The witcher could not interrogate the thief, as he had died tragically while attempting to make off with his loot. Yet he had left behind a clue leading to Dun Tynne Castle, which the witcher made his next destination. Yet the assault on this fort manned by many knights would not prove easy. Ironically, Anna Henrietta made this so by giving Geralt an additional objective. You see, the thief had first obtained a barrel of ducal wine and then attempted to pinch a jewel that had in the past belonged to Syanna, Anarietta's sister. The fact of said sister's existence surprised me as much as it must surprise you, my readers. Who knew Anarietta had a sister, and what's more, one even more fiery than the duchess herself? These facts caused the duchess to suspect Syanna could herself be at Dun Tynne. So she ordered the witcher to go there and find her. As if these revelations were not enough, the evening ended in a philosophically complex scene featuring the duchess of Toussaint, several ancient higher vampires and a grumpy witcher sharing a table. The conversation proved both lively and varied, spanning matters ranging from the intricacies of combating monsters to the propriety of wearing deep-cut formal dresses.
Objectives[]
- [Optional] Put on clothes Anna Henrietta will consider appropriate for the soiree.
- Meet Anna Henrietta in Mountebank Alley.
- Search the alcoves for a woman with a Koviri orchid in her hair.
- [Optional] Take part in the soiree's entertainments.
- [Optional] Grab some paint balls.
- [Optional] Throw paint balls to express your inner artist. (15)
- Use your Witcher Senses to search the refreshment tables.
- Use your Witcher Senses to follow the scent.
- Using your Witcher Senses, follow the tracks across the balconies.
- Use your Witcher Senses to search the room and find out what happened there.
Notes[]
- Three known locations where the four thugs can be encountered are Harbor Gate, Metinna Gate, and the square between Lafargue's and Trentin's workshops.
- The optional objective to put on clothes will not be completed immediately like it does in other quests, but only after you're at the meeting place.
- A few different things are observed depending on what you wear when you meet Anna Henrietta:
- If you wore an appropriate attire (Nilfgaardian/Courtier's or Beauclair style is fine, but Skellige isn't), she will compliment Geralt on his style.
- The ornate robe from the Hearts of Stone expansion not only works, but she will have a unique comment for it. It is also the only top that works with any trousers and boots.
- If you don't have an appropriate attire, Anna Henrietta criticizes Geralt, but will have prepared and give him a set of elegant Beauclair doublet, trousers, and boots.
- If you didn't wear appropriate attire, but have it in your inventory (note it has to be a full set), Geralt will go change to it after Anna Henrietta's criticism. This still fails the objective though.
- If you also have all your weapons removed and/or wearing a mask (any mask item works, even the tourney champion's laurels or Tesham Mutna mask) she will further compliment you for your forethought, but will still give you a different mask saying yours is not the required kind.
- If you go for shock and awe by choosing to wear just your breeches Anna does not even notice and treats you the same as if you had worn your armor.
- While throwing paintballs, you can take 2 colors at a time, but you aren't automatically switched to the remaining one after you run out of a color. You have to manually select it as a bomb.
- Two notes can be found while at the soirée: a script play fragment and a love letter. There's a third, refusal letter, which for unknown reasons doesn't spawn. None of them are important though.
- The sketch of the Heart of Toussaint shown by Orianna is its own item, but for unknown reasons isn't obtainable.
Bugs[]
- When at the meeting place, Geralt will comment that Annarietta is late - this is scripted, but he says that even during daylight before time advances to the appropriate hour.
- The mimes may get stuck just standing in place looking at you, but you can still interact with the invisible rope to complete the entertainment objective. However this may cause you to become stuck. The only way to fix this is to load a save.
- A couple of the guests in the northern corner don't wear masks and at least one guest in that area recognizes you.
- When the investigation part starts, you get back all buffs such as decoctions that you may have had before meeting Annarietta, but Geralt's face is clean and showing no signs of toxicity, even after the quest completes.
- If the thugs are encountered, not all of them may become hostile and one may be left behaving like a random civilian who cannot be attacked.