In The Claws of Madness is a quest in The Witcher 2 with a story related to a now-ruined hospital in the middle of the woods. The quest is pretty straightforward and can be done in minutes. However, a decision has put some players in thought of what’s right. You don’t need to worry much; this guide will address the choice and other queries related to the In The Claws of Madness quest.
The quest starts once you talk to Cedric in Lobinden in Chapter 1. As you ask him for any work for the Wither, he refers to some investigators who went to the ruined hospital and haven’t returned. Once you accept this, In The Claws of Madness quest in The Witcher 2 will start, and now you need to find the people and ruined buildings.
How to navigate through the mental hospital
Start from the waterfall in the forest near Flotsam. From here, follow the southwest path down until you reach a slope. Go up and enter a cutscene with Rupert, one of the two explorers. He’ll explain his identity and ask you to find his lost friend in the ruined hospital.
From this point, go down and through the holes in the ruined walls until you find stairs. Ensure you are armed with enough supplies, as you can encounter a lot of Nekkers along the way to the stairs.
Once you are down here, it’s easy to navigate as there is only one way to go. Follow the turns, and you’ll end up in a room with two Wraiths (ghostly forms) in The Witcher 2. They are powerful, so make sure you dodge and attack them individually.
Defeat them, and a new path would be revealed. Also, pick up the Robust Cutlass in the chest here. A ghostly figure will appear dressed in black armor. Follow it and go through different ghosts of people. After a few turns, you’ll find Gridley. Talk to him, and a new quest prompt will appear, telling you to find a sedative.
Keep going and turn right into a new room. More Wraiths will appear. Kill them and take the sedative from the table. Bring them back to Gridley and listen to his story. When it ends, he’ll go back up. As for you, continue going forward and follow the black armor ghost. The ghost will explain his side and ask you to bring those two people to him in The Witcher 2 In the Claws of Madness quest.
Betray Rupert and Gridley
Now that you’ve listened to both stories, you can decide. Once the Nilfgaardian’s ghost asks the Witcher to bring him back the hearts and eyes of Rupert and Gridley, you can do just that.
As you come out and talk to the two friends, lead them to the ghost down the dungeons. The ghost will talk about killing them, and the friends will confront you. The Nilfgaardian will call other ghosts, and Rupert and Gridley will die the grizzly death by fire.
After they’re dead, you can loot them. They would have some money and a diagram of the Robust Silver Sword in The Witcher 2.
Betray the Nilfgaardian’s ghost
The other option is to trick the ghost and side with Rupert and Gridley. Choose to tell them the truth with the The ghost wants you dead option. This will then prompt you to get some animal’s heart and eyes. It doesn’t matter which one it is from.
Go down to the ghost and offer him the items. He’ll know you tricked him, and the fight will start. Defeat the ghost and then go up to talk to the two men again. This will bring out two more options. You can either send them away or bring them to justice in the city (if you choose this, you’ll be teleported to the city, too, which saves time for you, too).
In the city, hand them over to Lorendo’s mother in The Witcher 2, the surviving asylum patient. She’s traumatized and used by these guards and will deal with them, which is the only way to teach them their lesson.
What to do if the Nilfgaardian’s ghost is missing?
After talking to the ghost, you might experience a bug. If you go down the square room where you last found the Nilfgaarduan’s ghost and don’t find him there, try to go out and trace back to the room following the route you first came in from. This may work for some.
The quest is now stuck for you if the ghost is still missing. There is nothing you can do other than wait or come back to finish it again. To avoid it, save it before going down the steps at the quest’s beginning. Then, if the ghost vanishes, you can start over and complete the quest.
Who should you betray during In The Claws of Madness Quest?
From the story’s perspective, both choices have similar outcomes. Both can get you the same items from the chests and the same experience. It all comes down to what you feel is right.
Apart from morality, if you want to complete the quest early, you can go with killing Rupert and Gridley. This wraps up the ghosts’ and the quest’s problems, and you can continue.
If your morality doesn’t allow them to be killed brutally, you can go with the second option and then have them face justice at the hands of their victim. This one is more satisfying in The Witcher 2 but will take a few more minutes to complete.
