Under a Fiery Sky

Guide Geralt through Vizima's chaos in 'Under a Fiery Sky'. Escort nurses, battle mutants, and defend the hospital from warring factions.

Alright, so you've just finished a cutscene and found yourself ready to tackle the next part of the Vizima storyline. Your first task is pretty straightforward: head down the stairs from where you start. You'll quickly run into two nurses who need an escort to Shani's Hospital. Seems like everyone's caught in the middle of this war between the Order and the Scoia'tael, and they're all looking to Geralt for help.

Here's the deal with these nurses and the general chaos: don't get too bogged down fighting random enemies. They'll just keep respawning, and honestly, you don't need what they drop. Your main goal is to get these nurses south to the Hospital. Just keep moving towards it.

Once you reach the Hospital, the nurses will thank you. You'll head inside, and after a bit more chatter, Shani will appear. How she reacts to Geralt depends on your past choices – if she's your sweetheart or not. Right after that, a guard will pop in with some urgent news: the Striga has been spotted near the tallest tower in Old Vizima. This is a big one, updating both the “Her Highness the Striga” and “Under a Fiery Sky” quests.

Next up, it's time to hunt down that Striga. Head south again until you find Kalkstein’s Laboratory. From there, turn north into an alley. You'll trigger a cutscene where a Mutant drops down. You'll need to fight it off using the Fast Steel Style. After the fight, Kalkstein shows up, ever the curious scientist. He'll identify the creature as a mutant and make a rather unsettling comparison to Geralt, noting that Salamandra is getting dangerously close to creating Witchers. He'll also give you a crucial piece of information: an old church in the Swamp Cemetery is likely the Striga's lair. He'll hand you the book “Striga’s Urge” too, just in case you need it. This updates “Her Highness the Striga”, “Under a Fiery Sky”, and kicks off a new quest, “Sweet Revenge”.

You can follow Kalkstein back to his house or chat with him along the way. If you ask about armor, he'll tell you what's needed to reforge it, which starts the quest “A Magic Formula” and updates your “Armor” quest.

Now, back to the Hospital. Shani will have something to say, but you'll be interrupted by a squad of Scoia'tael rebels. They're not interested in talking, so you'll have to take them down. After that, Shani will express her disapproval of their methods. But your troubles aren't over. Because you're neutral, the Order knights will barge in next, assuming they can handle things better. You'll need to deal with them too. Shani will be pretty exasperated by this point – she's trying to save lives, and both sides are making it incredibly difficult. Neutrality, huh?

Feel free to loot the bodies if you want, then follow Shani out back. It's time to escort her to the Swamp Cemetery. Hopefully, it'll be a bit less politically charged.

As soon as you step outside, Shani will mention that the alley you need to sneak through is crawling with Necrophages – Ghouls, Alghouls, Graviers, and Cemetaurs. You'll have to fight the first group, which is mostly Ghouls and Alghouls. Shani will comment on their numbers, and Geralt will give a pretty straightforward explanation.

Keep heading north-west. You'll need to blast through some debris blocking your path and then take on a second group of Necrophages. This time, it's a mix, including Graviers. After they're dealt with, Shani will suggest finding another route. Geralt, being the pragmatic Witcher he is, decides it's better to face the undead than get involved in someone else's mess. Honestly, he's got a point – this is what a Witcher is supposed to do.

Blast through more debris and fight another group of Necrophages, this time just Graviers and Cemetaurs. Shani will complain again, and Geralt will respond. More debris blocks your way to the south, so blast it and deal with a fourth and final group of undead. This one's a mix of Ghouls, Alghouls, and Garkains. Once all the undead are dealt with, you'll finally escape Old Vizima. You'll catch a cutscene of White Rayla getting assassinated – just another casualty in this senseless conflict.