The Witcher 3 - Mysterious Tracks: how to bait and kill Howler

Pick up the next Contract by making your way to the noticeboard in Lindenvale and plucking the note from it. When you grab it, you'll learn that a local huntsman has stumbled upon a walk in the woods that contains some rather peculiar tracks.

You don't have much more intel to work on right now, but if you take a stroll towards the cottage to the south of Lindenvale, you'll find the hunter himself. If you work through the dialogue options, you'll learn that this involves a pretty big beast, one that's ripped apart no end of wolves.

At this point, you may well wish to discuss your remuneration for the quest, but when you're done, get ready to hunt the monster down.

Head south, beyond a rundown looking cottage by a tree, then make your way towards the pile of wolf corpses. Turn on your Witcher Senses and make sure you have a good look over the bodies. Next, follow the massive tracks up the rocks and in a south-west direction.

When you reach the top, keep following the tracks towards a tree and investigate it. You'll discover that the monster left quite a bit of fur on the bark, and as a Witcher you can detect the beast's scent. Keep trailing it south until you're lead towards the entrance of a cave.

How to find the secret entrance to the cave

You can't reach the opening directly, so clamber up to the area right above the opening, then have a look around for a hole in the ground. You'll find it amongst a load of trees. Drop down and into the cave.

This brings you into the monster's lair and you should now be able to see the original entrance just over on the other side. Jump down on the floor, turn on your Witcher Senses, and take a look at the corpse, including its mouth.

In order to fight the true monster of this Contract, you're going to need to bait it into the cave. You'll receive the Chort Lure recipe automatically, but you'll have to head out and find the ingredients. Both the Fiend Dung and the Crow's Eye can be found very nearby, so gather up what you need and cook up the concoction.

Go back to the hill above the cave, then look at your minimap. You need to drop this bait around all four of the marked locations in order to draw the beast into battle. When you're done preparing your trap, make your way back into the cave.

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.

How to kill Howler easily

Howler isn't too much of a problem, but you'll make life even easier for yourself if you make use of Devil's Puffball bombs and Relict Oil on your blades. This will make the beast much more vulnerable to your damage, and you should have it down in no time.

Once you've looted the body for some ingredients and your trophy, make your way back outside, summon your horse, and then return to Lindenvale where your rewards await you. Congratulations!

- Return to the index page for more The Witcher 3 - Velen Secondary Quests and Contracts.

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