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Geralt has it easy inThe Witcher 3,when it comes to his profession at least. Lambert and Eskel, fellow members of the School of the Wolf, bemoan the miserable life of a witcher whenever they can while Geralt often reflects on how poorly treated he usually is.
Related:The Witcher 3: Woe Is Me Side Quest Walkthrough
While the game’s Witcher Contracts tend to involve only a small degree of disrespect, the side quest Where The Cat and Wolf Play shows you what most witchers can expect on the Path. This short story is one of the game’s best, coming in a short and well-contained package that has you dealing with a fellow witcher.
Where To Start Where The Cat And Wolf Play
This quest doesn’t have a conventional start. Instead of looking for a quest-giver, you’ll need tovisit the town of Honortonwhere you’ll find the settlement overrun with alghouls. You’ll have tokill the monstersfor the quest to begin.
Another way to find the town would be to findContract: The Beast Of Honorton,which is posted onnotice boards in Crow’s Perch and Oreton.You won’t be able to complete the contract, for reasons that’ll become obvious, but you’ll be able to start the quest.
Investigating Honorton
Curious and concerned with the state of the town, Geralt willbegin investigating four buildingsto piece together what happened.
Large House To The North
A woman withlethal sword woundslies slumpedopposite the doorwith thestove still burning.Search the room to theleft of the entranceto find aleshen head.
Small Huts To The West
At the entrance of thenorthern hut, Geralt will find aman who died quicklyafter being stabbed. At thesouthern hut,a body that wasstabbed in the backlies before the entrance.
Barn To The South
The large, empty barn hasseveral corpses laying outsideand analghoul waiting within.Search the stall furthest from the entrance to find asilver chain.
After you have searched all the buildings, a cutscene will begin, where a young girl flees from an unknown assailant. Go outside anduse Geralt’s Witcher Senses to locate her dollbefore following her footprints.
They lead to her hiding place, where Geralt will try to learn about what had happened in the town. It’ll take some convincing, but she eventually tells Geralt thatshe’s Millie, the only survivorin Honorton.
If you do not haveDelusion at level one, you willnot be able to use Axii to calm the girl, leaving her doll as your only option.
She’ll tell Geralt that awitcher had butchered the townbut had mysteriously spared her. She even has the witcher’sSchool of the Cat medallion,which had been dropped during his killing spree.
He had fled the town by astone circle important to the inhabitants.You’ll have to go there to discover where the man had gone.
Following The Killer
At the stone circle, you findtwo clues,abloody hand print on a rockand abloody trailleft by the witcher. Inspect both with Geralt’s Witcher Senses to track the wounded witcher down.
Be prepared tofight a pack of wolveson the way to the witcher.
You’ll find the culpritresting on a benchfar away from Honorton. Getting close enough will haveGeralt confront the witcher,where you will decide his fate.
Hear Gaetan Out
Choosing tohear Gaetan outwill let you learn of the circumstances behind the massacre. You will have asecond choicewhere you will make a final decision betweensparing or killing him.
Kill Gaetan
The witcher’s actions have bothcaused the deaths of innocent villagersandsullied the name of the profession.If you choose to kill him, you’ll befacing him in a duel.
Should You Kill Or Spare Gaetan?
The choice at the heart of Where The Cat and Wolf Play is one of the many difficult decisions that you’ll have to make throughout The Witcher 3. On the one hand,Gaetan had been cheated and almost killedby the people he had fought to protect. On the other,his killing spree was merciless and indiscriminate,possibly murdering people who had no part in the scheme.
Thereisn’t a clear-cut answerto this decision, at least when considering the situation. While he waslikely justified in defending himself,he may have gone too far inkilling almost everyone in the town.
Members of the School of the Cat have areputation for being killers-for-hirethat are more than happy toengage in indiscriminate murder with a side of regicide and assassination.While we don’t know if Gaetan carries on this tradition, he may not be entirely honest with his testimony.
While the ethics at the heart of this choice would be better explored by a more intelligent individual,the choice is easy when deciding based on gameplay rewards.
Spare Gaetan
The witcher will begrateful for Geralt’s mercyandshare his stashas a reward. It contains250 crownsandTegir, a steel sword.
You’ll have tobeat Gaetan in a fight.He won’t go down easy, though you willreceive Tegirwhen looting him.
In short,sparing Gaetan will let you avoid a difficult fightwhile alsoproviding better rewards.You’ll get250 crowns and Tegirfor sparing him while you’llonly get Tegir for killing him.
How To Beat Gaetan
If you’re set onkilling Gaetan,you’re in for a tough fight. His wounds don’t stop him from being asuperhuman fighterwith theenhanced reflexes and Signsthat make Geralt so deadly.
He willask Geralt to let him drink Swallow before the fight.While it would be the sporting thing to do,do not let him.He will use the opportunity toblind Geralt with a bomb,putting you at a disadvantage.
you may use theNoonwraith decoctiontoavoid being affected by his bombif you’ve fallen for his trick.
Gaetan ismuch faster than most of your opponentsand is especially difficultto parry.If you’re not feeling confident in your parries, you canblock his attacks normallyfor a short time.
If you need tostun him,he is stillsusceptible to Aard and bombs.These options will open up opportunities to deal damage to him. Be ready for him tocast Quen,though.
During this fight, it’s best tostay defensiveandexpect him to swiftly punish any mistakes you make.He can kill you in a few hits if the opportunity presents itself.
Helping Millie
Once business with Gaetan has been settled, Geralt will have toreturn to Honorton to help Millie.Considering that she’s all alone, it won’t be long before the necrophages come for her, too.
She tells Geralt that she hasan aunt in Oreton.She doesn’t have anywhere else to stay, making the nearby village your only option. A cutscene will begin that hasGeralt and Mille arriving at Oretonand immediately meeting her aunt.
The woman is already struggling andisn’t keen to take Millie in.While she’ll take Millie in regardless, you cansweeten the deal by giving her 40 crownsas an incentive. Once Millie is in safe hands, the quest will end.
Next:The Witcher 3: Complete Guide And Walkthrough
