Throughout The Witcher 3, you're forced to make many decisions that impact the world around you. Even the game's side content includes big choices for you to consider. One such quest is called 'Woodland Beast'. In it, Geralt accepts a seemingly routine Witcher contract to kill a monster that's attacking Redanian caravans and murdering their soldiers.

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However, the situation is more complicated than it initially seems, and you have to make a significant moral choice that impacts everyone involved. All the possible consequences of the decision are detailed in this guide, along with a walkthrough of the entire quest.

Updated on December 5, 2022 by Quinton O'Connor: The Witcher 3's heading to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, so a surge of interest in this wonderful RPG is as inevitable as Geralt finding trouble in the woods. We're sprucing up our guides for fresh eyes and returning glances alike.

Starting 'Woodland Beast'

To acquire the contract, you need to pick it up from either the Border Post or Oxenfurt's notice board in Velen. It points you in the direction of a captain, who's also at the Border Post. In fact, he's standing only a few feet away from the notice board.

Talk to him to find out that his soldiers' transports are getting ambushed in the woods, and he wants you to sort it out. Unfortunately, you don't get the option to negotiate for a higher reward as the captain is unwilling to offer more.

The captain does, however, promise to give you a pass across the Pontar, which allows you into Novigrad and Oxenfurt. You will need the pass at some point in the game, but you can acquire one through other means if you want.

Tracking The Monster

To pick the trail of the killer, you need to head southwest from the Border Post. The exact spot to start your search is just across the river from the Inn at the Crossroads. At the location, you will find some alghouls to take down.

After they're gone, you can start investigating the place using your Witcher senses. Check the open crates, the dead bodies on the ground, the corpse by the wagon, and the footprints that are walking away from the scene. The evidence shows that it wasn't a feral beast that wiped these people out.

To continue, follow the footprints to the southwest. If you keep on the trail for a while, you will eventually run into some drowners that you must kill. When the battle is over, locate the footprints again and follow them up the hill.

Not long later, your tracking will be interrupted by a member of the Scoia'tael.

The following conversation heavily influences how the remainder of the quest plays out.

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Conversation With The Scoia'tael Member

The elf is not too friendly as he immediately wants to put an arrow through your head. You have three dialogue options. If you select either "you've killed enough humans already" or "just out for a stroll" a small group of them will ambush you. You must then kill them all and loot a squirrel tail from their leader's body.

Alternatively, you can ask to see their commander. The Scoia'tael member will demand you hand over your weapons first for insurance. If you don't agree to that, things will play out as they would if you didn't ask to see their commander. Yet, if you say, "Fine. Lead the way." you will momentarily lose your weapons, and he will lead you to an elf named Vernossiel.

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Meeting The Scoia'tael Commander (Optional)

Vernossiel is the leader of this band of Scoia'tael. If you're granted an audience with her, she will reveal that they're the ones who've been attacking the transports - albeit that's pretty obvious by this point.

She also defends her people's actions stating that the ambushes are necessary. Plus, she claims that the soldiers they kill have done far worse to her people. So, it's clear that she doesn't feel any remorse for the killings and that her people aren't going to stop the attacks.

At this point, you can respond in one of two ways:

  • "Do As You Will" - If you say this, then they return your things with some extra junk and low-level armor. You can now leave them alone.
  • "You're Common Bandits" - They don't react well to being called bandits, so they attack you. Since you don't have your weapons, you have to kill them with your signs. After they're dead, get your gear back from a nearby chest and grab the squirrel tail from Vernossiel's corpse.

You can also agree to leave the elves be, then attack them after you've got all of your equipment back if you're feeling especially treacherous.

Report To The Captain

Regardless of how you resolved the situation with the Scoia'tael, you now need to return to the captain.

If you killed the Scoia'tael, the captain will give you 30 crowns and the Novigrad pass he promised. However, if you kept them alive, you have two options of what to tell him:

  • "No Monster In The Woods. Just Scoia'tael" - For selling out the Scoia'tael, he gives you the pass across the Pontar, but no crowns because you didn't kill them. And later in the game, Vernossiel might spring a surprise ambush on you for betraying her people.
  • "No. Didn't Find Anything" - If you tell him you didn't find anything, he's disappointed by your performance, so he refuses to pay you in crowns or a pass.

After the conversation with the captain is over, so is the quest.

NEXT: The Witcher 3: Complete Guide And Walkthrough