Bald Mountain (quest)

Bald Mountain is a main quest in . This quest starts automatically once the quest Blood on the Battlefield concludes.
== Walkthrough ==
After you arrive at Road to Bald Mountain, you can use your Witcher Senses to see and examine a lot of footprints to follow, but the path is pretty obvious. Climb the path and once you get close enough you'll meet a guard taking his role a bit too seriously and an elder peasant named Stregomir. The latter will note that Geralt had once served the Ladies and you can join them at their fireplace for a conversation if you wish. If you do, Stregomir will tell you more about the sabbath and magic acorns. Regardless of your choices though, he will direct you to Thecla if you wish to see the Ladies. Along the way to her, you will find two minor merchants and a blacksmith, so you can offload some junk and do repairs if needed.
=== Thecla ===
Just a bit ahead, you will meet Johnny and possibly Sarah if you evicted her during Novigrad Dreaming. Among other things, he will tell you more about Thecla and warn you that, while Ciri is young enough to be allowed to meet the Ladies, Geralt is not. When you're done talking to him, proceed to the tent where Thecla is.
When you meet her, in a rather creepy fashion but as predicted, she will immediately choose Ciri and reject Geralt. The witcher protests and is presented with a challenge to prove himself worthy: retrieve the Defier's Oren from a deep and murky lake.
This is very easy, especially if you use Killer Whale. Drop down into the waters and shoot the two drowners there before diving deeper and the objective marker will show exactly where the coin is. There's also a treasure chest near it, as well as a second cave to explore, but nothing of note in it. Return to the water surface the way you came and as you climb out, you'll see the real threat to your left - a fiend who like the drowners was "conveniently" not mentioned. Geralt will notice it, but while it is scripted to appear, it's merely guarding another cave with minor amounts of orens as loot and it won't attack if you don't approach it. However you chose to deal with the monster, return to Thecla and she will agree to let Geralt pass. (300)
=== Fugas ===
Follow Marica, who will unlock the gates for you. They will close and lock behind you, and there's a minor bit of extra dialogue if you try to open them. A short distance ahead you will encounter Fugas, a sylvan guarding the way to the top. Just like Thecla, he will simply allow Ciri in, but then when shown the Defier's Oren, he declares it to be a death sentence and attacks.
Put on your relict oil and kill him. Ciri will help, but take care to avoid his flaming breath. For some reason, you can get two "burning" status effects simultaneously, and this can deplete your health fast. If you're having trouble, stand back a bit - he'll focus on Ciri and she's both invulnerable and perfectly capable of killing him on her own, it just takes a long time. After he is dead, a cutscene will follow where Geralt and Ciri argue over who gets to kill Imlerith, and they end up playing "Rock Paper Scissors" for it. Geralt wins the 2 out of 3 and Ciri is left to deal with the Crones instead.
=== The Crones ===
You will now be controlling Ciri. Continue forward and you will find a waterfall. After examining it, Ciri will deduce she has to jump down there, so do just that and swim a short distance to find the Crones. They look "different" and are cooking dinner, but as soon as Ciri crashes the party they turn back to their beastly form and it's time to fight them.
Remember this is 3 against 1, so make use of her Blink ability. Charge is also useful, but mostly against the Brewess, as the other two can temporarily phase out of material form and avoid hits. Be patient and prioritize safety, they hit very hard. Once all three fall, there will be a cutscene where it turns out Weavess is still alive. She steals Vesemir's medalion from Ciri and flies away. The scene will then switch back to Geralt.
=== Looting the Crones (optional) ===
When you're back to Geralt, you'll be a bit further ahead at the end of the cave system, but it's possible to go back and loot the caves, including Fugas and the Crones. It's a lot of work for very little reward, but if you wish to do so, make a save here so you can easily resume if something goes wrong.
Head back to where you fought Fugas and this is the trickiest part. The path to him is blockaded, but it's possible to jump over. The easiest way to do it without pure luck is to climb just a bit on the broken wall to the right, after which jumping ahead is easy. When you succeed, loot Fugas for the Bald Mountain key, which unlocks the gates - if don't do that, you may get stuck and be unable to return. It's actually possible to have already looted the key just as Fugas dies, before the cutscene there triggers, but one has to be really fast and precise to do that.
With the key in hand, note that there are three exits. The lone one leads to the gates, so turn to face the other two beside each other - you want to enter the left one. Climb the ledge there to find yourself where you started as Ciri and follow the same path you did as her. Jumping down the waterwall is the point of no return.
When you reach the cave where you fought the Crones, there's nothing but the corpses of the two slain sisters and they only contain a few crafting materials and lesser glyphs. There's now another stone ledge to jump over, different from the way you came. Follow that path until you find a treasure chest containing a Forgotten vran sword and up to 2 random diagrams. When you jump down immediately after the chest, you can't climb back up and you'll be in the empty cave chamber that could be found while diving for the Defier's Oren.
Go ahead through the waters the same way you did to return the coin, and again all the way to the gates, which you can now unlock if you haven't already when you got the key from Fugas. Reach the same chamber where he was and this time climb into the right tunnel to continue towards Imlerith.
=== Imlerith ===
Now it's time to climb the mountain. Along the way you will find a Quen Place of Power, which is great as Quen is very useful during the battle. Follow the rocky path after it and then climb a ledge to reach the peak. When you reach Imlerith he will ask if you brought Ciri with you, but your answer doesn't matter and the fight starts then.
Like with all Wild Hunt warriors, you have to use your silver sword even though he's an elf. He's not that hard at first - his shield is annoying, but just roll around to stab him from behind. He will stagger Geralt if you try to get too many hits in one go, so dodge after 2-3 at most. Once he goes down to 33%HP, he will drop his shield and this is when he's truly dangerous.
He will then constantly swing his mace, while trying to teleport behind you and will have frost shielding applied. The shield you can burn with Igni and you'll probably have to cast a lot of signs anyway, so consuming Tawny Owl is a great idea (especially the superior version, since this takes place at night), but it's way more important to dodge his attacks and Quen is more useful (especially with Active Shield; if you have Exploding Shield too, it may even stagger him). Wait for openings between his teleports, when he will swing his mace into the ground and needs to gather his strength before lifting it - he is vulnerable then and you can get free swings.
When he is cut down to around 5% health, a cutscene will play where Imlerith lifts up Geralt like he did Vesemir, but this time the witcher will prevail - just enjoy the cinematic. (1,000)
=== The magic acorn ===
Soon Ciri will join Geralt and start conversing, after which you will have a choice to stay a bit longer or leave right away and end the quest. if you leave now, you're missing on 2 skill points!
If you stay, you can go back to loot Imlerith's body for a magic acorn. It will go into your "Food and drink" and can be consumed for 2 skill points. Do this immediately, as it can later be given to the peasants instead and you would lose it then. There's no penalty for keeping it for yourself.
 It seems that the acorn will remain there forever, thus allowing you to pick it up later if you return, but why risk and wait?
When done, talk to Ciri or simply descend toward the caves. Either way, Stregomir will greet you and ask how will they manage without the acorns. If you have not used the acorn yet you can give it to him, but that's obviously not a great option for you, so pick the other one. Regardless, Ciri and Geralt will head for Novigrad where they will be greeted by their friends in Dandelion's establishment and the quest ends. This will start Final Preparations, but you are also finally free to roam the world again as you see fit.
== Journal entry ==
: Vesemir's death tore a gaping hole in Ciri's heart and left only a burning drive for revenge to fill it. This drive burned all the higher when she learned from Avallac'h that Imlerith, the general of the Hunt who murdered Vesemir, would be attending the Crones' sabbath on Bald Mountain. Ciri smelled blood and decided at once to travel to No Man's Land and kill Imlerith. Geralt, that calculating, practical-minded witcher, as usual caved immediately to his adopted daughter's wishes and agreed to accompany her on this expedition. The pair thus slipped out of Kaer Morhen in the cool light of morning and galloped of to find vengeance.
: Vengeance is what they found, and, though served warm, it was nonetheless sweet. The duo found their way to the top of Bald Mountain and there Ciri killed two of the three Crones while Geralt triumphed in a deathmatch against Imlerith. The only bitter note - the third Crone escaped, taking with her Vesemir's medallion, the only memento Ciri had kept of her dead friend and mentor.
== Objectives ==
* Find a way to the mountain's summit.
* Talk to Thecla and get permission to climb the mountain.
* Retrieve the coin Thecla threw in the water by using your Witcher Senses. (300)
* Give the coin to Thecla.
* Travel the path to the peak of Bald Mountain.
* Defeat Fugas.
* Penetrate to the heart of the tree's roots.
* Kill the three Crones.
* Use Blink to strike all three Crones and disturb their spell.
* Find Imlerith.
* Kill Imlerith. (1,000)
* Talk to Ciri once you are ready to go to Novigrad.
== Notes ==
* At the end of the quest, after speaking to Stregomir, the dead oak tree is shown and we see Weavess in her immaterial form, a murder of crows, above the tree.
* After killing Imlerith, aside from the magic acorn, there are also a couple of treasure chests nearby - one beside his throne and one tucked behind rocks in the area under the small bridge below.
* It is possible to observe the Crones' cave from a hole in the ground above, but they aren't seen from there. An instant fall death will occur even if you manage to drop mere centimeters on the rock edges there.
* While playing as Geralt, it is possible to climb the rocks left from the gates to reach Fugas, Imlerith and the Crones at any time during the quest. The opening to do that is just above the hole above the Crones' cave. It is even doable with Ciri at your side, though the time window for that is smaller.
** Imlerith will be sitting on his throne and does nothing until he is attacked. This actually allows to kill him twice, but obviously with a few caveats during this glitched encounter - he'll have his frost shield from the very start, will be presented as a regular level 26 enemy instead of a "boss", doesn't drop loot (i.e. no double magic acorns) and obviously the cinematics don't trigger. If Ciri is with you, she'll just stand around and not recognize that anything is happening. Unfortunately, the quest script doesn't account for killing him this way and you can't just tell her afterwards that you did.
** The Crones will simply be standing there as naked women. Unlike Imlerith, they can't be attacked, though you can make them act scared like a regular person would with Geralt acting hostile around them. The window to do this together with Ciri is smaller, as you have to pass through Fugas to get there and if you do that after returning the Defier's Oren, this triggers the scripted encounter with him.
** Fugas will also just sit there and you can do nothing to him before you returned the Defier's Oren.
== Bugs ==
* Almost all the people who arrive for the sabbath remain permanently at the location, even after the entire game is completed, and continue to act as if the celebration is still going. Not only that, but foglets who occupy the area before the quest will return as well, and will wander around the peasants, oblivious to them and vice versa. Only one of the two merchants is known to leave.
== Videos ==
File:The Witcher 3 Fugas the Devil Boss Fight (Hard Mode)
File:The Witcher 3 Imlerith General of the Wild Hunt Boss Fight (Hard Mode)
File:Revenge Served Hot - The Witcher 3 DEATH MARCH! Part 102 - Let's Play Hard
ar:الجبل الأصلع (مهمة)
pl:Łysa Góra (zadanie)
Category:The Witcher 3 main quests