While exploring Novigrad in The Witcher 3, players may encounter a notice board that initiates the Following the Thread sidequest, which begins with a hunt for an ekimmara. There is much more to this quest than simply dispatching a beast, though, and fans will find themselves forced to make several choices before everything is said and done. For those players that want to know more about the choices in The Witcher 3's Following the Thread sidequest, full details can be found in this guide.
In preface of providing a full walkthrough of Following the Thread in The Witcher 3, it is important to mention that players will fail this quest if they do not complete it before starting Ugly Baby, a main quest that kicks off Act Two. Additionally, advancing Following the Thread to a certain point will prevent fans from starting Flesh for Sale, a sidequest that takes place on Skellige, and it is thus advisable to not progress past the ekimmara hunt until after Flesh for Sale is finished.
The Witcher 3 Following the Thread
Upon accepting The Witcher 3's Following the Thread quest, players should speak with the supervisor to begin tracking the ekimmara and the "brave fool" that is already on the hunt. With the help of Geralt's Witcher Senses, fans will find themselves crossing a river and eventually entering a building. It is in this structure that the battle with the ekimmara will occur, and players will discover that it is Lambert, another witcher, that was also tracking this monster in The Witcher 3.
When the ekimmara is slain a brief conversation between Geralt and Lambert will occur, and it is here where the first choice in Following the Thread arises. More specifically, players must decide if they will go with Lambert to speak with the supervisor or they will instead meet him there, and the second of these options is recommended. This is because choosing to meet Lambert will give fans an opportunity to loot the ekimmara, and leaving with him directly will not.
Back in the presence of the supervisor a fight will occur, and indeed Lambert will kill the man regardless of a player's actions. Fans will then be sent to the Seven Cats Inn, and here Lambert will reveal that he is actually on the hunt for Jad Karadin, an assassin that killed his friend Aiden. This will lead players to question a former member of Jad's gang named Vienne, and the second choice in Following the Thread comes in the form of two dialogue options at the end of this exchange:
- "Do what you think is right": A battle with Vienne and three other elves takes place.
- "Don't kill her": There is no fight.
At this point, The Witcher 3 fans are sent to find Hammond on Faroe, and they should first head to the village of Trottheim to initiate a dialogue. This will lead players to a shrine at the east side of the island, and here they will dispatch Hammond and loot a letter from his corpse. This letter is to be taken back to Lambert at The Nowhere Inn in Novigrad, and players will then be ready to advance to the final part of The Witcher 3's Following the Thread quest.
In this final part, Geralt and Lambert confront Jad, and fans are forced to make one last decision: will they kill or spare the witcher. While the immediate ramifications of this choice in The Witcher 3 are pronounced, it has no long-term effects, aside from some additional rudeness from Lambert, and players should thus feel free to go with their preferred option.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions are in development.