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Background

You'll receive this quest from the "Missing: Mikkel" note attached to the notice board at the Crossroads in Velen North (#1).


Walkthrough

From the note, you'll learn that Bruno's brother Mikkel has gone missing. To learn more about the disappearance, you'll need to talk to Bruno inside the Crossroads inn. He'll tell you that when all of the menfolk of Bellows were conscripted, Mikkel took it upon himself to protect the women who were left behind. Bruno will add that Mikkel was planning on taking the women to the old mine, and that you'll be able to recognize him from his fancy calfskin boots.

When you reach the mine (Exit A), you'll discover some body parts out front, and you'll spot some strange tracks leading inside. Then inside the mine, you'll find blood, bodies, and more tracks -- plus a survivor, a farmer's wife (#3). However, she won't be very helpful. She'll just tell you that the creature is large, without any hints about what it is. Then once you've talked to her and lowered the nearby bridge (#2), she'll flee.

As you continue to explore the cave, you'll spot some blood, flesh and digestive fluids on the ground (#5), and you'll also find some eggs (#6). From these items you'll determine that you're looking for an arachas (aka a giant spider). This realization will earn you 25 xp and trigger a new objective -- to destroy all of the eggs. Completing this objective will make the fight against the main spider easier. Any eggs you don't destroy will hatch during that battle, forcing you to fight some baby spiders at the same time as their mother.

At the end of the mine, you'll find one of Mikkel's boots (#7) but none of the rest of him. Then Harrisi the arachas will attack you. She'll basically do two things during the fight: she'll hit you with melee attacks and she'll cast poison spells at you. The Golden Oriole potion will allow you to ignore the poison. For the melee attacks, you can just cast Aard or Igni at Harrisi, then hit her a couple of times with your silver sword, and then retreat and repeat.

When Harrisi dies, she'll drop some arachas parts, including an Arachas Trophy, plus a leveled version of Mahakaman Trousers. When you show the trophy to Bruno (#1), he won't be happy that you weren't able to save Mikkel, and he won't want to pay you. If you say, "I risked my life," then he'll give you less than your negotiated fee, and you'll also earn 200 xp. If you use Axii / Delusion on him, then you'll receive your negotiated fee plus 200 xp. If you say, "I'm not going to beg," then you'll earn 300 xp.


1 - Crossroads


2 - Raised Bridge

You'll only be able to lower this bridge by pulling the lever on its southern side.


3 - Farmer's Wife


4 - Wood Planking

If you follow the wood planking here, it'll take you to a pair of treasure chests.


5 - Feeding Material


6 - Eggs


7 - Harrisi


8 - Corpse

On the corpse here you'll find a leveled version of steel sword Gwyhyr.


Exits

1. Old mine entrance.
2. Ladder.
3. Ladder.