Lilac and Gooseberries

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt · Quest walkthrough

Lilac and Gooseberries is the main quest that opens the White Orchard prologue of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red, 2015, including the free next-gen update). It follows the Kaer Morhen tutorial quest. It has no quest giver; the source is Yennefer's letter, and the quest begins when you wake from the dream and talk with Vesemir. The goal is to find Yennefer by asking around White Orchard, which leads to the Nilfgaardian garrison and a griffin contract. The quest has no suggested level, and the quest itself is not missable. This guide was written from several walkthroughs and wikis. Where they disagree, I say so. I did not find quest steps that differ by platform or version. Several side tasks in White Orchard are time-limited, so read the point-of-no-return note before step 10.

AI-written walkthrough. Includes this quest’s outcomes. Verify important choices in-game. Researched 11/14/2026.

Before you start

Finish the Kaer Morhen tutorial quest. Fextralife lists it as the prerequisite, and The Beast of White Orchard as the quest that follows.
No level requirement is listed. For New Game Plus, one source gives level 31.
Optional: finish White Orchard side content (such as the Bram and Elsa tasks, Gwent cards and the crystal skull) before step 10, because leaving the area closes it off.
Carry your silver sword and any Necrophage Oil you have for the first fight.

1. 1. Wake up and survive the ghoul attack

After the dream, talk with Vesemir at the opening camp. Five ghouls then attack. Fight with the silver sword, since ghouls are necrophages. Igni adds damage, and Yrden slows them down. The Bestiary lists Necrophage Oil and Igni as their weaknesses, so apply the oil first if you have it. Loot the corpses afterwards for alchemy ingredients, since early crafting supplies are scarce.

Checkpoint: All five ghouls are dead, and the objective switches to following Vesemir.

2. 2. Optional: grab the crystal skull

Before you leave the camp, turn on Witcher Senses and scan just off the path for a glint. One guide places the skull north-west of Roach, past a small trail. The Official Witcher Wiki's skull entry puts it on the ground by the Crossroads in White Orchard. Those two descriptions are not obviously the same spot, so I cannot reconcile them. A forum poster claims it drops during the opening cinematic. I have given no map coordinates because I did not verify any. Picking it up gives 50 XP.

Checkpoint: The skull is in your inventory and you have the 50 XP. If you skip it, it disappears when The Beast of White Orchard is completed.

3. 3. Ride with Vesemir to the village

Mount Roach and follow Vesemir along the road. On a road, the horse can steer itself. Cross the bridge past the Ransacked Village. A cutscene shows a merchant trapped by a griffin, Vesemir lightly wounded, and the griffin flying off with a dead horse. The river route also gives access to the side quest A Frying Pan, Spick and Span.

Vesemir reading Yennefer's letter, at the Follow Vesemir mission.

Checkpoint: The cutscene ends and you are directed to the tavern in White Orchard. The following-Vesemir objective, listed at 250 XP, is complete.

4. 4. Speak with the innkeeper at the tavern

The tavern is near Woesong Bridge. A cutscene of insults plays, and then you have a long talk with the innkeeper about local tension, the missing griffin contract and the shops. She knows nothing about Yennefer and suggests you ask other travelers. Use the shops now if you need to, because the area closes later.

Checkpoint: The objective asks you to ask travelers about Yennefer.

5. 5. Ask the travelers about Yennefer

You can talk to three tables, but only one conversation is required. Gaunter O'Dimm is the one who matters: he knows something and sends you to the Nilfgaardian garrison. Scholar Aldert Geert will offer a Gwent game. If you agree, you unlock your deck and the Gwent tutorial begins, and talking to him also starts the side quest Collect 'Em All. The two peasants say little, but using Axii gets a bit more out of them, and one guide says calming one of them with Axii gives 25 XP. With Master Mirror (O'Dimm), your dialogue choices only change his replies, and you receive a Nilfgaardian Lemon.

Travelers at the White Orchard inn, where Geralt asks about Yennefer.

Checkpoint: The objective changes to asking the Nilfgaardians about Yennefer.

6. 6. Handle the brawl outside the tavern

When you leave the tavern, three thugs ambush you. Your dialogue choice sets the fight size. According to the research, Three against one? gives a 1v1 and then a 1v2. I won't stay long gives a 1v3. The Axii Back off option gives a 1v2. It is a fist fight, not a sword fight, so use fast strikes and dodge.

Checkpoint: The thugs are beaten and you can walk freely toward the garrison.

7. 7. Go to the Nilfgaardian garrison

The garrison is north of White Orchard, just past a swampy area. The guards let you in once they learn you are a witcher. Go to the tower and meet the commander, Peter Saar Gwynleve. He offers information in exchange for dealing with the griffin. The dialogue lines about herbs and the griffin are conversation only and change nothing.

Geralt talks with the Nilfgaardian captain at the garrison.

Checkpoint: The objective becomes Complete the griffin contract, and The Beast of White Orchard is added to your quest log.

8. 8. Complete The Beast of White Orchard

This is a separate quest, and the main quest will not continue until it is done. I have not covered its steps here. Follow its own walkthrough and return to the garrison afterwards. The quest pausing at the garrison is intended and is not a bug.

A griffin in flight, the target of the Beast of White Orchard mission.

Checkpoint: The griffin is dead and the main quest resumes with the captain.

9. 9. Take or decline the captain's payment

After the contract, the captain tells you Yennefer has gone to Vizima and offers coin. Accepting gives 300 XP and 150 crowns. Declining gives 400 XP. Pick whichever you prefer. The sources do not describe a further consequence.

Checkpoint: The captain's information is received and you are sent back to Vesemir at the inn.

10. 10. Finish side tasks, then prepare to leave with Vesemir

Before you speak with Vesemir, finish anything left in White Orchard: side quests, the shops, Bram and Elsa, and the skull if you want to keep it. After you start talking with Vesemir, a chain of events takes you out of the area. Then The Incident at White Orchard begins and Geralt fights bandits. They are weak, one-handed melee fighters, so fast attacks are enough, with Quen if you are nervous. Afterwards, Yennefer arrives with a Nilfgaardian patrol. You travel with her to Vizima, and she destroys the bridge behind you. No gameplay is required for the ride.

Yennefer with her Nilfgaardian escort at the Leave White Orchard mission.

Checkpoint: The bandits are dead and the scenes toward Vizima play out. The prepare-to-leave objective, listed at 150 XP, is complete and the quest ends.

Choices and things you can miss

Bram's reward: refusing politely gets a discount at his shop later and, per the Official Witcher Wiki, four roasted chicken legs from Elsa, while taking the 50 crowns forgoes those. The Official Witcher Wiki says refusing gives a 50 percent discount. Another source says neither choice has lasting consequence. One old forum poster claimed this choice affects the ending, but no wiki backs that up, so treat it as unsupported.
Captain's reward for the griffin: 300 XP plus 150 crowns if you accept the money, 400 XP if you decline.
Brawl dialogue only changes the size of the fist fight (1v1 then 1v2, 1v3, or 1v2 with Axii).
Gwent with Aldert Geert is optional. Agreeing unlocks your deck and the tutorial, and talking to him starts Collect 'Em All.
Crystal skull: take it or lose it when the griffin contract finishes. Several guides say you can later give it to Yennefer after The Last Wish in Skellige for a unique line and XP. I did not verify that against the game, so treat it as unconfirmed.
Point of no return: after you begin the conversation with Vesemir, unfinished secondary quests in White Orchard fail and Elsa becomes unavailable, though her Gwent cards can still be bought from Bram. A 2026 article says five side quests vanish, while wiki-style sources only say some. Finish everything first.

Rewards

XP total is disputed: the Official Witcher Wiki lists 600 XP and 0 to 50 crowns, while the Witcher Fandom wiki lists 750 XP. I cannot tell which is right, or whether one counts sub-objectives differently. XP may also vary with difficulty.
Individual objective values listed: 250 XP for following Vesemir after the dream and 150 XP for preparing to leave.
Choice-dependent rewards: 300 XP plus 150 crowns, or 400 XP, from the captain.
Extras: 50 XP for the crystal skull, a Gwent unlock if you play Aldert Geert, a Nilfgaardian Lemon from Master Mirror, and possible 25 XP for Axii on a peasant.
Bram and Elsa items as described above.
The achievement Find Yennefer of Vengerberg is not missable and is worth 15 Gamerscore on Xbox and a bronze trophy on PlayStation.

Troubleshooting

The quest seems stuck at the garrison: this is intended. It pauses until The Beast of White Orchard is finished.
You cannot find the skull: use Witcher Senses just off the path near the camp or crossroads. If you already passed The Beast of White Orchard completion, it is gone for this playthrough.
A side quest failed after you left: this is expected once the Vesemir conversation starts, and it cannot be undone. Reload an earlier save if you have one.
Objective order differs from what you see: WitcherDB lists Leave White Orchard before Ask the Nilfgaardians. That is the internal data order and not necessarily the order you play them in.
An unskippable end-of-prologue ride cutscene or Emhyr's doors stuck open were reported as fixed by the Brothers in Arms mod. It is third party, and I do not know whether those bugs exist in the vanilla game.

Release and platform notes

No quest steps were found that differ by platform or version. Patch 4.0, the free next-gen update, was released 14 December 2022 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X, and its notes mention only various small fixes to quests and cutscenes. Patch 4.04 fixed a freeze when loading a certain Beast of White Orchard checkpoint with ray tracing on. The only new quest in those notes is In The Eternal Fire's Shadow, in Velen, which is not part of this quest. I found nothing specific for Switch, PS4 or Xbox One and did not verify exact map coordinates, so I give none. The patch details come from research notes rather than the numbered guide list.