Witcher 3 On Death’s Bed (On Death’s Bed) and A Frying Pan, Spick and Span (A Frying Pan, Spick and Span) are two side quests in White Orchard that you can easily miss when you only chase the griffin. The first is about Lena at herbalist Tomira’s hut. The second is about a frying pan by the river and barely shows on the map until you are close.
For me, On Death’s Bed is one of the most interesting quests in White Orchard. You do not need a fight. You just listen to how two lovers used to meet and how it almost cost Lena her life. Then it is on you whether you give her Swallow. The potion is not meant for humans and can easily kill her.
On Death’s Bed
You meet Tomira’s hut during the main quest The Beast of White Orchard, when you are looking for buckthorn for bait. It sits west of the inn by the mill. Inside lies Lena. The same griffin that terrorizes the region wounded her. Tomira can only ease her pain. Geralt offers Swallow and right away says that on an ordinary person it can go badly.
When you agree, you brew Swallow. You need dwarven spirit, five celandine, and a drowner brain. You can buy the spirit at the inn or from Tomira. Celandine grows around her hut. You pick up the drowner brain by the river. Then go back and say you have the potion for Lena. You get the reward right away. How things turn out for Lena, you only see later.
If you do not give Swallow, Lena dies at Tomira’s. If you give it, Lena survives, but the Nilfgaardians take her away later. When you are in Velen at the Nilfgaardian camp of the Center Army Group, a soldier stops you. He is her lover. He tells you she is alive, but she does not recognize anyone and barely speaks. Both paths are sad. The game will not offer you a happy ending here.
Finish the quest before you leave White Orchard with Vesemir. If you leave the area earlier, the quest fails!
A Frying Pan, Spick and Span
The second quest is short and for me easy. You can still overlook it easily. The marker on the map only pops up when you are close. The hut stands by the river west of the village, toward the Nilfgaardian outpost. Outside stands an old woman who wants her pan back. A soldier borrowed it and locked himself inside.
You break the door with Aard and go inside. With witcher senses you find a corpse, burnt papers, and the pan itself. Geralt realizes the man did not want the pan for cooking. He wanted soot from the bottom, made ink from it, and wrote letters. You return the pan to the woman and get food and a bit of experience.
Both quests belong in the first hours in White Orchard. More hidden scenes without a notice board you find later in the guide to hidden quests in Velen. How the game holds up overall, I summarize in The Witcher 3 review. The guide overview is on The Witcher 3 hub.