The Witcher 3 — Moritz Diefenthel and Triss

Witcher 3 Moritz Diefenthel (witcher 3 moritz diefenthel) is a young mage whom Triss meets under a mask at the Vegelbud ball in the quest A Matter of Life and Death. He speaks to her arrogantly and refuses to flee from Novigrad. Later you can find him tied to a stake by Glory Gate, still before Now or Never starts.

At the Vegelbud ball

When you and Triss climb the stairs into the garden at the Vegelbud estate, Moritz Diefenthel stands by the door. Triss recognizes him even under the mask. She offers him a way to disappear from the city with the other mages she is hiding. Moritz answers pompously and says he does not want to be led by someone who, in his view, would not manage it anyway.

For Triss, Moritz is an older acquaintance from a Conclave party. Back then he offered her a teleport somewhere quieter and pursued her for a while. On a bench in the garden Geralt can ask Triss what there was between them. Triss says they only met once long ago and nothing more came of it.

By Glory Gate

When after the ball the time comes to evacuate the mages, the quest Now or Never opens. Even before you enter Triss’s house and start talking to her, go to Glory Gate on the eastern edge of the city. On the bridge by the gate you will see a burning stake and Moritz tied to it. Witch hunters are preparing him for burning.

Use Aard on the fire so the stake stops burning. Then attack the guard and the hunters by the stake and defeat them. Approach Moritz and talk to him. You can tell him to seek out Triss, or leave him to his own misfortune. When you send him to her, you later see him among the mages at her speech before they leave for Kovir.

The scene only works in that short window before the first talk with Triss in the house. Once the quest Now or Never properly starts, he will no longer be at the gate. The whole Triss line in Novigrad is summed up in the Triss storyline.

Closing

Moritz Diefenthel is a minor character who shows how Triss in Novigrad risks her life for the other mages. At the ball he is arrogant, by Glory Gate he pays for his decision to stay in the city. The rescue is optional, but it gives the quest Now or Never one memorable stop still before Triss’s house.