The Witcher 3 - Beyond Hill and Dale
The first of two forking paths you can take through Blood and Wine's story is the quest Beyond Hill and Dale.
This page covers Beyond Hill and Dale. If you're looking for more assistance, our Witcher 3 Blood and Wine walkthrough can help.
If at the end of the quest The Night of the Long Fangs, you chose to take Syanna to Dettlaff, read on. Otherwise, head to the next page for a guide to the quest What Lies Unseen.
Make your way to the Captain's location, fighting off any monsters that get in your way as you go. When you arrive, you'll encounter a Fleder that needs to be dealt with first, and once the coast is clear, use Witcher senses to follow the trail east and then north until you encounter another Fleder. Take it down, get the intel from Damien, and speak to the Ravens to let Regis know you're ready.
Head back to the palace and wait for Regis to unlock the door, then head upstairs. Examine the picture at the top of the stairs to find a key and use it to open the cupboard on the other side of the room, examine the book inside, and then read the diary on the desk. Once you've read all the entries, return to the cupboard and read the book.
Beyond Hill and Dale
Follow the yellow brick road (ignore the route-finding on the minimap) as it makes its way through the curious landscape, but be careful when you reach the bridge, as there's an Archspore nearby. When you reach the marker, you'll have to face off against the Wicked Witch: ignore her to start with and fight off whichever beast she summons, and then ready your crossbow. As she flies around above you, she'll drop her protective bubble to fire off a few blasts of poison, so while her guard is down fire off a bolt to knock her off her broomstick, and then move in to deliver a few blows from your sword - Relict oil will help here. Repeat a few times until she's down, and then forge an uneasy alliance with Syanna.
Carry on along the yellow brick road, and be ready with Elementa oil to help in the upcoming fight against a group of Pixies. When you reach the Unicorn, jump on and ride to the marker, then deal with the wolves when you arrive. Speak to the Boy Who Cried Wolf to find out the location of the three beans:
- Yellow bean: Head for the rather obvious tower. Take a running jump across the gap in the stone steps, climb the ladder, and take the spiral staircase round the outside until you reach a crack in the wall. Head inside, carry on up the steps, and then through a few sets of doors until you reach the top room and a fight with a Specter - she' doesn't pose a huge threat herself, but she'll summon skeletons at various points during the fight. Once you've, er, killed Rapunzel, look on her bed for the bean then jump from the balcony into the water below.
- Red bean: Pay Grand mamma's house a visit and talk to the Big Bad Wolf. Drop down inside the well and dive to the bottom to collect the red hood, then swim out through the tunnel. Apply some Beast oil and battle the Big Bad, and you'll retrieve the bean from his innards.
- Blue bean: Visit the Three Little Pigs. Use Aard to huff and puff and blow their house down, and then make some bacon out of them - try and avoid actually going in the house during the fight as it's easy to get pinned inside.
There's a set of Relic gear available in this area: in a small pool just east of the base of the slope leading to the tower, there's a Will'o the Wisp - follow it to find a dead knight. The remaining two fairy tales are optional - the Three Bears results in a fight, and the Flint Girl has a ribbon that belongs to Syanna that you can either buy or play Gwent for - so visit them if you wish, and then head for the garden.
When you arrive, a couple of dozen Pixies will come pouring in which need to be dealt with before you can plant the beans. When they're down, head for the centre of the marked area and pop the beans in the ground.
We all remember what Jack found at the top of the beanstalk, and this is no exception. Apply Ogroid oil to your sword and tackle the behemoth - it's a similar fight to the one that began the story, the main difference with the enemy being that he can move below ground level, so if he disappears from view, keep rolling to avoid being hit from behind when he reappears. Run in for a few hits, roll out of range when he starts to strike, and repeat until he's down.
Once the giant is down, decide whether or not you want to grant Syanna's "last wish", then head towards the castle. (When you reach the bridge, a Will'o the Wisp will guide you through a gap in the barriers on the far left. Follow it through, head under the bridge and down the slope, and into a small cave. There's a Relic silver sword here, as well as a nod to Dark Souls - light the bonfire to collect the weapon.) Jump into the well to get back to reality.
Our Witcher 3 walkthrough and guide can help you with the main story, including the Wandering in the Dark and Family Matters missions, and eventually, one of several Witcher 3 endings. There's plenty of side content, too, including Witcher 3 Contracts, White Orchard quests, Velen quests, Novigrad quests and Skellige Isles quests. Elsewhere, learn about the best Witcher 3 builds, the best Witcher 3 mods, how to make money in Witcher 3, find Places of Power locations, and learn how to do Witcher 3 crafting and Witcher 3 Alchemy And when you're done with all those - we can help you through expansions with our Hearts of Stone walkthrough and Blood and Wine walkthrough.
The plots recombine now - skip forward two pages to read our guide to the quests Tesham Mutna, Pomp and Strange Circumstance and Be It Ever So Humble
Or head back to the first page for an index of our The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Main Quest walkthrough
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