The Witcher 3 — Carnal Sins

Witcher 3 carnal sins (Carnal Sins) is a detective side quest in Novigrad. After the attack on Priscilla, Geralt hunts a serial killer who murders people who sin against the Eternal Fire. The real culprit is coroner Hubert Rejk, a higher vampire hiding in the warehouse by the docks. The quest starts after Cabaret and you must finish it before the Isle of Mists, or it ends up among the failed quests.

Walkthrough

When the quest starts

The quest opens right after you open Chameleon in the Cabaret quest. A messenger brings word that someone brutally wounded Priscilla and she lies in the hospital. Marigold sends you to physician Joachim von Gratz, who is already working at the singer’s bedside. The attacker looks like a bard in a mask, so Marigold wants the killer found before Priscilla dies.

At the bedside Marigold admits openly for the first time that he loves Priscilla and wants to stay with her. The quest continues the Novigrad line from Broken Flowers and Cabaret, so without both earlier steps you cannot reach this point.

Crypt beneath Novigrad

Joachim von Gratz leads you through a canal into the crypt beneath the city. On the way you run into a few drowners and one water hag, so keep your silver sword ready and oil against necrophages. In the crypt you look for the body of a dwarven woodcarver, the killer’s last victim before the attack on Priscilla.

Turn on witcher senses and examine the corpse piece by piece. From the wounds you see the killer does not fight on a whim. He picks victims by how they stand toward the Eternal Fire and leaves messages on the bodies. When you finish with Joachim, coroner Hubert Rejk walks in. He knows the doctor from Oxenfurt and helps you with the autopsy for a while.

Then reverend Nathaniel Pastodi from the Temple of the Eternal Fire arrives and throws you both out. Joachim goes back to Priscilla and you keep searching for clues in the city.

Clue at the woodcarver and witnesses

The marker sends you to another body, this time to woodcarver Eustace Bryllo in his workshop. Examine the crime scene the same way you did in the crypt. The murders are linked and the attacker again leaves a clue for where Geralt should go next.

On the way you also talk to people around Priscilla’s case. Priscilla herself tells you what she remembers from the attack, and other witnesses add who in Novigrad criticizes preaching of the Eternal Fire. The murders target those who blaspheme against it, and the killer treats that as a moral lesson for the whole city.

Vegelbud estate

The clue leads you to the Vegelbud estate east of Novigrad. Geralt tries to warn Patricia Vegelbud, but the killer is faster. In the room you find a body already dead and another message on the skin. This time it names Sweet Nettie from the brothel The Crippled Kate.

The killer fled into the yard and the guards briefly take you for the culprit. You must quickly convince them that you follow the killer’s trail and do not cover it up. From Patricia’s body you take another note and the marker sends you back into the city to the brothel by the docks.

The Crippled Kate and Nathaniel Pastodi

At The Crippled Kate ask the staff about Sweet Nettie. The girl is upstairs in a room and reverend Nathaniel is torturing her with a hot poker. You can kill him at once, but you easily break the quest that way. Talk to him first and let him finish.

Nathaniel is a sadist who tortures women but does not kill them. When you question him and ask who left the letter at Patricia Vegelbud’s, you learn that coroner Hubert Rejk commits the murders. The reverend knew where Nathaniel would be because Hubert told him, while Hubert himself slipped away to the warehouse at the docks.

Then you can help Nettie three ways. You use Axii and drive Nathaniel off, leave her with him, or kill the reverend. The last choice is the cleanest morally, and from the room you can pick up the unique poker he used to torture her.

Fight with Hubert Rejk

Once you know Hubert is the killer, the marker leads you to the warehouse by the Novigrad docks. Inside the coroner admits he is a higher vampire and murders sinners in the name of cleansing the city. Then he transforms and attacks. After you win, return to Marigold and Priscilla.

Closing

Carnal Sins is one of the best detective threads in Novigrad. The key is Nathaniel’s dialogue, not a quick swing of the sword, and the final fight with Hubert Rejk adds an entry in the bestiary after the quest. Finish it before you leave for the Isle of Mists, or it stays incomplete.

You start Marigold’s line in Broken Flowers and it continues with The Play’s the Thing. The review of The Witcher 3 and more guides are on the game hub.