Fyke Isle is a dump. Honestly, even by the standards of the Velen swamplands, it’s a miserable, pestilent rock sticking out of Lake Wyndamer. But for anyone who has spent time with Geralt of Rivia, the A Towerful of Mice quest is where The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt stops being a simple monster-slaying sim and starts being a genuine horror story. It’s one of those missions that sticks in your craw. You think you’re doing the right thing, you follow the magic green lamp, and then—bam—you realize you might have just made everything ten times worse.
The quest is part of Keira Metz’s storyline. It’s optional, technically, but if you want the "full" experience or any hope of a decent ending for Keira, you have to do it. You’re sent to investigate a curse on the local lord’s tower. Local peasants, fed up with starving while the mage Alexander and the local lord Vserad lived in luxury, stormed the place. They didn't just want food; they wanted blood. What followed was a massacre involving experimental plagues and, as the name suggests, a metric ton of hungry rats.
What Really Happened in the Towerful of Mice
Most players go in expecting a wraith. Maybe a Noonwraith or a Pesta. What you find is Anabelle. She’s the daughter of the lord who lived there, and her story is gut-wrenching. During the peasant uprising, Alexander gave her a potion he claimed was a sleeping draft so she wouldn't feel the pain of being killed by the mob. Except, it wasn't a sleeping draft. It was a potion of paralysis.
Imagine it. Anabelle wakes up, unable to move a single muscle, and she’s lying on the floor of the laboratory. Then the rats come. She’s eaten alive while fully conscious. It is one of the darkest pieces of writing CD Projekt Red ever put into a game. When Geralt finds her using Keira’s magic lamp, she appears as a flickering ghost, begging for help. She wants her lover, a local fisherman named Graham, to come to her.
The Trap Most Players Fall Into
This is where the quest gets tricky. Anabelle asks you to take her remains to Graham so he can bury them, claiming this will break the curse. If you say yes, you’re basically fast-tracking a disaster. You take the bones to Graham’s hut, leave, and then hear a blood-curdling scream. You run back inside, and Graham is dead. Anabelle wasn't just a sad ghost; she was a Pesta—a plague maiden. By taking her bones past the threshold of the tower, you’ve released a literal personification of pestilence into the world.
She’s free now. She's gone. And people are going to die because you were a "nice guy."
If you’re suspicious—which, let’s be real, Geralt usually is—you can call her out on her lies. This leads to a boss fight in the tower. You don't "kill" her here, but you realize that the only way to break the curse is through an act of true love. You have to bring Graham to the tower. This is the "better" ending, though it’s hardly a happy one. Graham has to kiss the rotting, plague-infested corpse of his former lover. It breaks the curse, they both die, and their spirits are finally at peace. It’s grim. It’s Velen.
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Why the Pesta Choice Matters
The Pesta is a specific type of monster in Witcher lore, often associated with the Catriona plague. If you let her go, you aren't just failing a quest objective; you are actively contributing to the misery of the Continent. It’s a classic example of the "lesser evil" trope that Andrzej Sapkowski built the series on.
- The "Good" Choice: Force Anabelle to stay, bring Graham to the tower. Both die, but the curse is lifted safely.
- The "Bad" Choice: Take the bones to Graham. Graham dies a horrific death, and the Pesta is unleashed on the countryside.
- The Keira Connection: Completing this quest opens up the "A Favor for a Friend" mission. Without finishing Fyke Isle, Keira’s fate remains stalled, and you lose out on a key ally for the Battle of Kaer Morhen later.
Mastering the Combat on Fyke Isle
If you're playing on Death March difficulty, the tower can be a nightmare. It’s cramped. The staircases are narrow, and the rats? They are surprisingly lethal. Seriously, the rat swarms in this game can stunlock Geralt into oblivion if you aren't careful.
You need Igni. Not just for the rats, but for the atmosphere. Lighting the torches makes the climb less oppressive. When you eventually face the Pesta (if you choose the combat route), remember that she’s a wraith. Yearden is your best friend. Without that magical circle, she flickers in and out of existence, making her nearly impossible to hit.
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Also, keep some Tawny Owl potion handy. You’re going to be casting signs constantly. If you've been neglecting your alchemy, this is the quest that will punish you for it.
The Architecture of a Curse
One thing people overlook is the environmental storytelling in the tower. Alexander wasn't just some random mage; he was working on a cure for the plague, or perhaps a way to weaponize it. The notes you find scattered across the floors hint at a man who was terrified but also cold-bloodedly clinical. The game doesn't hit you over the head with it, but the implication is that the "massacre" might have been partially fueled by the fear of what was happening in that lab.
The tower itself is a character. It’s vertical storytelling. As you go higher, the luxury increases, but so does the evidence of the horror. By the time you reach the top floor where Anabelle is waiting, the contrast between the fine furniture and the blood-stained floorboards is jarring.
Hidden Details You Probably Missed
Did you know you can find Graham's house before the quest even starts? It's just a lonely hut, but if you visit it early, the dialogue options change slightly when the quest finally triggers.
Also, pay attention to the green ghosts visible through the lamp. They aren't just background noise. They play out the final moments of the peasants and the guards. If you watch closely, you see that the "heroic" peasants were just as monstrous as the lord they were overthrowing. They were raping and pillaging, not just looking for bread. It complicates your sympathy for Anabelle’s situation. She was a victim of both her father's greed and the mob's cruelty.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
To get the most out of the A Towerful of Mice quest and ensure your world state is optimized for the endgame, follow these specific steps:
- Preparation: Level up to at least 6 or 7. While the quest is listed at a lower level, the Pesta fight can be a gear-check for unprepared players.
- The Lamp: Use the Magic Lamp in every room. There are seven distinct "ghost scenes" to find. Finding them all provides a significant chunk of XP that most people leave on the table.
- The Confrontation: When talking to Anabelle, do not agree to take her bones immediately. Question her. Look around the room. Geralt will notice things that don't add up, like the fresh blood or the way the rats react to her.
- The Graham Decision: If you want the "canonical" Witcher ending (lifting the curse), refuse her request. You’ll have to fight her, but then you can go get Graham.
- Post-Quest: Immediately talk to Keira. Don't wander off. This triggers the next leg of her questline, which is vital for the "Full Crew" achievement/trophy later in the game.
The beauty of this quest isn't in the loot—which is mostly just okay—but in the realization that Geralt’s job isn't just to kill things. It’s to investigate. It’s to be a detective in a world where the victims can be just as dangerous as the killers. Next time you cross the water to Fyke Isle, don't just rush the markers. Listen to the wind. Look at the rats. The game is trying to tell you something.