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The Witcher 3 - Skellige Isles: Ard Skellige side quests (Part 1)

How to find the first seven quests in the massive Ard Skellige area of The Witcher 3, and what you need to do to complete them.

The Ard Skellige section of Skellige Isles is massive, so we've broken down our side quest guide into three sections. Here's the first seven quests you can find.

If you're looking for more assistance, our Witcher 3 walkthrough can help.

Abandoned Sawmill and Armed Assault

Abandoned Sawmill

The abandoned sawmill is located about two thirds of the way from west to east across the island from Crossroads. Discovering it will trigger the quest. Use your Witcher Senses to search the area and you'll be ambushed by a leshen. Kill it to complete the quest.

Armed Assault

South east of The Nithing is another hut with some bandits outside. If they're not there move away from the building and meditate for an hour or so. Dispatch the bandits, then knock on the door to complete the quest.


A Bard's Beloved and Call of the Wild

A Bard's Beloved

North east of Palisade is a large lake. Follow the path heading south-east from it to discover a cave entrance. Head inside to speak to a troubadour and trigger the quest, then follow the marker. Kill the water hag to complete the quest.

Call of the Wild

Head east from Arinbjorn. Just outside the village on the right-hand side of the path you'll be attacked by white wolves and a werewolf. Kill them to complete the quest. You may need to make several visits for the werewolf to spawn.


Crime and Punishment and The Family Blade

Crime and Punishment

Along the northern coast of the island - only accessible by boat - is a rocky outcrop with some harpies attacking a man chained to the cliff. Kill the harpies and talk to the man, then set him free to complete the quest.

The Family Blade

Pick this up from the noticeboard in Kaer Trolde Harbour. Head towards the marker and kill the inhabitants of the camp. Loot the bodies: one will have a journal which will point you to your next destination. Kill everyone there, find another journal, and read it. Heasd to the whales' graveyard, kill some more thieves, and finally collect the sword. Return it to Kaer Trolde for a measly 20 Crowns.


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.


Farting Trolls

Not so much a quest (it doesn't appear in your log and no cave marker appears on the map), more a point of interest. Hidden on the eastern edge of the mountain range on the south east of the island is a cave. Enter it and you can hear sounds of distant farting. As you head into the cave you'll hear some trolls having a rather unpleasant conversation. Kill the trolls or leave at your discretion.


- The next part of our Skellige Isles guide explains how to complete the next batch of The Witcher 3 - Ard Skellige Secondary Quests.

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

- To find all of our help for the game, take a look at our Witcher 3 walkthrough.