Of Dairy And Darkness
Of Dairy and Darkness is one of the myriad secondary quests you can go on in Novigrad. It takes place in a store located right next to the Notice Board in Gildorf Square.
This is a fun quest because you will deal with tyromancer’s secrets. Tyromancer, in case you are wondering, is a person practicing divination by observing the coagulation of cheese. You are dealing with the cheese mage! You will not be able to complete this quest unless you first finished the Main Story quest Wandering in the Dark.
Key Facts | |
| Level: | 9 |
| Location: | Novigrad |
| Category: | Side Quest |
| Reward: |
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Quest Text
A Novigrad merchant told Geralt about a mage named Aeramas. The poor man had, like so many of his colleagues, met a gruesome death on a pyre. With no surviving heirs, his expansive rural residence was now abandoned – and, if the rumors about this eccentric sorcerer were true, inside it awaited a great many curiosities and valuable secrets…
Starting NPC
Additional Info
Go to the store next to the Notice Board in Gildorf Square and peruse the wares on display. The owner also has a special offer – some treasure from a mage who was recently burned at the stake.
The treasures apparently unlock a secret room beneath his former house east of Oxenfurt. You should buy the following two items:
The treasures apparently unlock a secret room beneath his former house east of Oxenfurt. You should buy the following two items:
- Lizard figurine
- Jade figurine
Walkthrough
Following contains quest spoilers. You’ve been warned
Search Aeramas’ residence using your Witcher Senses.
Travel to the mage’s razed house east of Oxenfurt, where a stench of cheese pervades the air. Climb into the ruins and find the magic circle on the floor.
Examine the circle while having the two figurines you’ve purchased in your inventory and a portal will open. Go through it.
Examine the circle while having the two figurines you’ve purchased in your inventory and a portal will open. Go through it.
Find a way to pass through the tyromancy rooms.
On the other side of the portal is a large tyromancer’s chamber. This chamber is a maze of stinky cheese! You can find a path through them that has no poison clouds, but the way I did it is go to the right of the chamber and by running quickly I managed to get to the other side of the chamber without taking much damage. Just hug the right wall (looking from the entrance). On the other side of the room is a broken staircase you can climb up on top of. Follow the path and you’ll arrive at another portal.
Find your way through the flooded chamber.
Go down some stone steps until you reach an underground lake that has two tunnels branching off. Swim along the north, smaller, branch and dive underwater when you can’t swim on the surface anymore. You will resurface in an adjacent cavern. Climb out of the water and follow the path.
This cavern has tall pillars and a broken bridge that leads to Aeramas’ laboratory. Kill the Foglet in it.
Use your witcher senses to inspect the area if you wish, there are some notes to be found, along with another of the wizard’s figurines.
Pass the cheese collection in the northwestern corner of the cavern in order to reach an archway. Take another figurine from Aeramas’ desk and conjure a portal with it. Before you go through it there is an illusionary wall left of the portal. Use the Eye of Nehaleni item from the Main Story quest Wandering in the Dark to dispel the illusion and get some extra loot.
This cavern has tall pillars and a broken bridge that leads to Aeramas’ laboratory. Kill the Foglet in it.
Use your witcher senses to inspect the area if you wish, there are some notes to be found, along with another of the wizard’s figurines.
Pass the cheese collection in the northwestern corner of the cavern in order to reach an archway. Take another figurine from Aeramas’ desk and conjure a portal with it. Before you go through it there is an illusionary wall left of the portal. Use the Eye of Nehaleni item from the Main Story quest Wandering in the Dark to dispel the illusion and get some extra loot.
Deactivate the magic barrier and get to Aeramas’ treasure.
You arrive inside a chamber where Aeramas’ treasure is protected by a red dome of magic. Head to an alcove to the right of the dome and use your Igni sign to activate a small pyramid switch.
The other switch is on the opposite side, but it is hidden behind an illusion. Use the Eye of Nehaleni to dispel the illusion, then activate the switch with Igni. (The Eye of Nehaleni is given to you by Keira Metz at the end of the main story mission “Wandering in the Dark”. This quest is part of a chain of quests that starts with “Wandering in the Dark“. The Eye of Nehaleni dispels illusions.)
Take the treasure from the chest and the sword from the statue, then head to the archway behind the steps. Activate the portal with the figurine you picked up from the treasure chest, then go back to the surface to complete the quest.
The other switch is on the opposite side, but it is hidden behind an illusion. Use the Eye of Nehaleni to dispel the illusion, then activate the switch with Igni. (The Eye of Nehaleni is given to you by Keira Metz at the end of the main story mission “Wandering in the Dark”. This quest is part of a chain of quests that starts with “Wandering in the Dark“. The Eye of Nehaleni dispels illusions.)
Take the treasure from the chest and the sword from the statue, then head to the archway behind the steps. Activate the portal with the figurine you picked up from the treasure chest, then go back to the surface to complete the quest.
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there’s no foglet at the broken bridge
I just get totally lost in the cheese and waterways. End up going in circles. This makes me not want to play. There’s no minimap or anything to help you through this stupid maze. I’m lvl 51 doing this on broken bones difficulty….it was complete in my original storyline.
@Rubi- I had to re-start the game at level 19 because I realized while doing Of Diaries and Darkness that I didn’t have the capability to use my signs and I never ran of breath under water. It apparently happened during a fatal error in which I was kicked out of the game. I should not have bothered to keep going. If the error happened to you recently you may be able to go back to a saved version? I have had another error since and now I cannot attack on horseback otherwise Geralt goes into slow=mo. I sort of want to quit…
I did this before the quest is appeared. And now, the quest said, do it again. I did it, but I can’t open the portal in the end. What can I do?
I cannot use my signs at all in the dungeon to de-activate the barrier. My character doesn’t even try to gesture the sign. On the left, the bar also turns red when I try. Please Help!
There are 2 pyramid switches. This is one of the more comical quests in the game so far. I enjoyed it. No idea about the switch when you get out though. If anyone has concrete answers let me know
I used Igni to pyramid switch, but Pyramid switch didn’t active. What’s wrong?
Shoot it til it glows. I used the upgraded version.
Tryed using ignited got on to light up other didn’t now bot do nothing
When you leave the last room room the sword and are teleported to the top of the ruined building, there is a switch on the wall. If you use it, everything gets pitch black for a few seconds before returning to normal and Geralt says something like “I wonder what that’s all about”. Anybody know what the deal with that is?
I used that lever too, and after a quick glance around it seemed to activate the pentagram portal again, maybe the mage built the lever as a sort of failsafe for the key?
I think it is a failsafe. I completed The Nobleman Statue before this quest, which removed the Jade figurine from my inventory. If you need both for the quest, but have done that quest beforehand, then you’d be screwed otherwise.
i have some toussaint wine or something but not lizard figurine! WTH Is this game fucking with me?!!
yep, same here, bought the touissant wine, just to be sure
I bought the jade figurine but the seller doesnt sell the lizard figurine! why is that?!
need help, when i want to open the portal, it says i dont have some sort of key
Same here. Need help.
What is Eye of Nehaleni? How do I use it? I’m stuck trying to deactivate the barrier.
The Eye of Nehaleni is given to you by Keira Metz at the end of the main story mission “Wandering in the Dark”. This quest is a part of the chain quests that starts with quest “Hunting a Witch”. The Eye of Nehaleni dispels illusions. P.S. Once you get it, don’t forget to scout the room you find yourself in, there is a sweet relic silver weapon there 😀 .