A Long Way from Home

A Long Way from Home is a secondary quest in Chapter II which Geralt can undertake if he asks Yaren Bolt a second time if he needs the services of a witcher, having already completed Flowers and Gold for him. Despite being optional, it does provide quite a lot of meaningful information about the main quests and should not be neglected.
== Walkthrough ==
Having sorted out the Flowers and Gold quest for the lumberjack, Geralt asks Yaren Bolt if he needs the services of a witcher for any other tasks. As it happens, the woodcutter does. He divulges that the way from the Lumberjacks' glade to the landing is blocked by monsters. These monsters include: bloedzuigers, drowners, echinopsae and vodyanoi, and this makes life for him and his band of woodcutters difficult to say the least.
Yaren also would like the witcher to get rid of the vodyanoi near the clay pits. He does not exactly explain why he wants to be rid of the "fish people", as he derisively refers to them, but it is part of the deal. Geralt points out that this is not really the best of ideas and that what the lumberjack is requesting amounts to a massacre, but there is no swaying Bolt.
Geralt decides to accept regardless and sets off to clear the road with his usual speed and efficiency, but he is still having doubts about the vodyanoi angle. He slices and dices his way through three bloedzuigers, a trio of drowners and a pair of echinopsae. There! Road cleared.
Spare the vodoyanoi:
:At this point, our hero is quite close to the Brickmakers' village. He just can not bring himself to just kill some creatures who have done nothing as far as he can see, so he decides to have another chat with the local Water Lords expert, Vaska. It is a good thing he does as the eldress outlines a way to make peace between the vodyanoi and the woodcutters which would avoid any bloodshed: offer Yaren's axe as a sacrifice and token of peace on the altar near the clay pits.
:Geralt decides to follow her advice and goes back to tell Yaren about the new development. He manages to convince the dwarf to give up his axe. The witcher then goes off to the clay pits to place the axe upon the altar and wait for some sign that the offering has been accepted.
Kill the vodoyanoi:
:Now for the vodyanoi, after all, a contract is a contract. The witcher quells any doubts and continues with his mission.
 He goes to a nearby campfire and meditates until nearly midnight, then heads over to the vodyanoi altar.
Spare the vodoyanoi:
:He checks the altar and sees that the fish people have left their own offering, an amulet.
Kill the vodoyanoi:
:He kills the lone vodyan at the altar. [If you take the amulet, you can kill the lone vodyan without consequence]
The witcher then heads back to the Lumberjacks' glade to report to Yaren. The woodcutter is pleased that the road has been cleared and rewards Geralt as agreed.
== Notes ==
* The quest can easily be missed, since the Yaren's dialogue line, when asking for another job, is greyed out, thus indicating there is nothing new to talk about. A "hidden" quest or dialogue bug, so to speak.
*Even if you chose to keep the money and angered Yaren in Flowers and Gold, he will still grudgingly give you this quest if you ask.
*This is one of the very few timed quests in the game. DO NOT go wandering around doing other stuff when you are supposed to be at the vodyanoi altar (or any other time during this quest). If you leave the swamp, or get distracted and forget to go back and see Yaren, the quest will fail and he will tell you that most (if not all) of the woodcutters have been killed, thanks to your tardiness.
*While this quest is active, unrelated monsters with a timed respawning counter do not spawn anywhere in the swamp. Certain monsters with non-timed triggers (e.g. the two drowned dead at the beggartick patch near the ruined tower who appear every time after entering and exiting buildings etc.) are not affected. Once the quest is completed, all the monsters that had been waiting for respawning appear all at once.
* Also, if you are tardy and get the woodcutters killed, it seems like Gramps' good will disappears as well, so you can no longer get the formula for Hanged Man's Venom from him.
* Interestingly, if you go with making peace between the woodcutters and the vodyanoi, the lumberjacks (except for Yaren, of course) all undergo a miraculous conversion to the Brickmakers' faith. Clicking on them after this quest (with this choice) reveals all sorts of funny and interesting conversation tidbits, one of which is a reference to Monty Python and the "Lumberjack Song" as it references "wild flowers" and "cross-dressing".
* When you convince Yaren to give you his axe to make peace, you will automatically drop any secondary weapon you are carrying on the ground, so be careful. If you are carrying for instance both Harvall and a meteorite sword, you probably want to go to an inn and put one in storage before starting this quest, or you can store one of your swords at the vodyanoi altar and switch it for axe later - be careful though, you need to collect/switch it before midnight, as it is possibly counted as sacrifice. Or, you can kill the fishpeople straight away without need to worry about your weapons.
* If you negotiate with the vodyanoi, Vaska will explain what offerings to present at the vodyanoi altar. Mostly plants, brews, and incense. Offerings are turned into Hellebore petals after a few hours.
== Phases ==
=== Monsters ===
The lumberjacks are in trouble - they have been cut off from supplies by wandering monsters. Yaren Bolt promised to pay me if I can deal with this threat. I must quickly kill the monsters blocking the road and take care of the vodyanoi issue. Time really matters - perhaps I should go to Vaska, as she seems to get along with the fishpeople well. I must kill the monsters blocking the road and take care of the vodyanoi issue as quickly as possible. Perhaps I should turn to Vaska with this problem.
=== Bloedzuigers ===
A group of bloedzuigers has been destroyed - the swamps are now a better place. I killed a few bloedzuigers. I should eliminate any creatures that threaten the lumberjacks. (100 XP)
=== Echinopsae ===
:If Clay Pits was not completed: The echinopsae are dead and I doubt anyone will miss them. I killed some echinopsae. I should eliminate any creatures that threaten the lumberjacks. (100 XP)
:If Clay Pits was already completed: The echinopsae are dead and I doubt anyone will miss them. I should eliminate any creatures that threaten the lumberjacks. Vaska might tell me something interesting about the vodyanoi. (100 XP)
=== Drowners ===
The drowners left this world - this time for good. I killed a few drowners. I should eliminate any creatures that threaten the lumberjacks. (100 XP + 200 XP when all monsters are dead)
=== Yaren's Axe / Wretched Fishpeople ===
:Side with Vaska: Vaska, the elder woman of the brickmakers, persuaded me to try and settle the conflict with the vodyanoi peacefully. She instructed me how to deliver messages to the aquatic race. I should get their attention by placing an item on the altar between the clay pits. A vodyan will then come at night and leave an item as well. Placing Yaren's axe on the altar will show our will to lay down weapons and make peace. I have to convince Yaren Bolt to sacrifice his axe.
:Kill the vodyanoi: I told Vaska that I intend to solve the dispute by killing the fishpeople's priest. She wasn't pleased to say the least. I'll find the priest by the altar near the clay pits. He comes at night. I intend to kill the vodyanoi priest by the altar.
=== The Sacrifice / Vodyan Killed ===
:Sided with Vaska: I convinced Yaren Bolt [to] solve the problem without bloodshed. He gave me his axe to present to the vodyanoi as a sign of peace. I must take it to the altar. At midnight one of the fishpeople will appear. If he approves of the offering, he'll leave something in return. I must sacrifice the axe on the Vodyanoi altar.
=== Quest Completed ===
:Spare the vodyan:I left the axe on the altar and in return I received an amulet which symbolizes peace. I must go to Yaren Bolt and tell him about it. I need to clear the road to the landing, make sure people can get there safely. (1000 XP)
:Killed the vodyan: I killed the vodyan the lumberjacks were so afraid of. I need to clear the road to the landing, make sure people can get there safely.(500 XP)
=== Payment ===
:Timely return: I did everything Yaren Bolt asked me to do. I should go to him to collect my reward. I should go to Yaren Bolt to collect my reward.
:Tardy return: I waited too long. Yaren Bolt wasn't too happy when he learned the monsters killed several lumberjacks and dispersed the others. I'm out of luck - no reward this time. My mission failed. (500 XP + Lesson: don't go wandering around doing other stuff when you are supposed to be at the Vodyanoi altar)
=== Payment / Failure ===
:If Geralt gave Yaren the Beggartick: Yaren Bolt is happy with my services. He paid me according to the agreement. Yaren Bolt paid as agreed. (400 + 1000 XP)
:If Geralt kept the Beggartick: Yaren Bolt is happy with my services. He paid me according to the agreement. Yaren Bolt paid as agreed. (100 + 1000 XP)
== Videos ==
File:The Witcher A Long Way from Home (Hard) HD
cs:Daleko od domova
de:Weit weg von Zuhause
es:Lejos de casa
hu:Messze az otthonomtól
it:Lontano da casa
pl:Daleko od domu
ru:Долгий путь домой
Category:The Witcher quests