Contract: The Mystery of the Byways Murders

Witcher ContractVelen

While traveling across Velen, Geralt happened across a village which seemed to have been abandoned. The ghouls lurking amidst the huts gave him a bad feeling about its former inhabitants' fate, so the witcher decided to kill the monsters and investigate what had happened.

Fixing a softlock

Enable the debug console, then look for a fact under Gates the quest checks — one the quest is actively waiting on. If that flag never got written, addfact it to the value shown and the gate clears.

Setting a Set these to advance fact only marks a step done — it won't run the step or skip the quest forward, and it can't fix a softlock caused by a scene that never played or an NPC that didn't spawn (reload an earlier save for those). Save before forcing any fact.

Quest facts (15)

Set these to advance

11 facts

Completion flags this step writes — they record a step as done but won't run it or skip the quest forward on their own.

Stegna done

mh104_stegna_done

In phase: Ekimma

Achievement given

mh104_achievement_given

>= 1

In phase: Achievements

Completed

mh104_completed

>= 1

In phase: Additional Game Elements, Ekimma, Quest Giver

Investigation done

mh104_investigation_done

>= 1

In phase: Ekimma

Initial talk

mh104_initial_talk

In phase: Quest Giver

Kill ekimma on

mh104_kill_ekimma_on

In phase: Ekimma

Stegna visited

mh104_stegna_visited

In phase: Ekimma

Ekimma hostile

mh104_ekimma_hostile

>= 1

In phase: Ekimma

Ghouls encountered

mh104_ghouls_encountered

>= 1

In phase: Ekimma, Quest Giver

Kill initial interaction

mh104_kill_initial_interaction

>= 1

In phase: Quest Giver

Nilfgaardian body checked

mh104_nilfgaardian_body_checked

>= 1

In phase: Ekimma

Gates the quest checks

4 facts

Ekimma house door used

mh104_ekimma_house_door_used

>= 1

Gates: Ekimma

Job taken

mh104_job_taken

>= 1

Gates: Aveling Merchants, Ekimma, Quest Giver

Open trap door

mh104_open_trap_door

>= 1

Gates: Ekimma

Reward giver mentioned

mh104_reward_giver_mentioned

>= 1

Gates: Ekimma

Objectives

1.Explore the village using your Witcher Senses.
2.Follow the scent of blood using your Witcher Senses.
3.Explore the tunnels under Byways using your Witcher Senses.
4.Deal with the ghouls prowling the village.
5.Find out what happened in Byways.
6.Talk to the commander of the Nilfgaardian patrol.
7.Find and kill the ekimmara.
8.Talk to Bytomir.
9.Report back to the Nilfgaardian patrol commander.
10.Take a trophy from the ekimmara.
11.Find the surviving villagers.

Objectives a quest can show, in roughly the order they appear; some are optional or mutually exclusive branches.

Other Witcher Contract quests

Big Game Hunter Contract: An Elusive Thief Contract: Bovine Blues Contract: Deadly Delights Contract: Devil by the Well Contract: Doors Slamming Shut Contract: Dragon Contract: Here Comes the Groom Contract: Jenny o' the Woods Contract: Lord of the Wood Contract: Missing Brother Contract: Missing Son

View all Witcher Contract quests