At the Mercy of Strangers is an unmarked secondary quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which can be started in Greyrocks, on the water's edge west of Mulbrydale.
This quest is ideally completed while en route to Inn at the Crossroads during The Nilfgaardian Connection quest as it is along the same route. If the player advances too far in the main quests, this will no longer show up as he'll be dead by then.
Walkthrough
Along the riverbank, on the road between Mulbrydale and Inn at the Crossroads, shouts of a man in distress can be heard. The man in question, John Verdun, is tied up on the shoreline and surrounded by drowners. Take care of them, then speak with John to decide his fate. It appears that the man was a former Temerian soldier but his army was destroyed by the Nilfgaardians after which he deserted. When the refugees he was fleeing with found out that he was a deserter they tied him up and left him. If Geralt should point out he doesn't believe refugees would tie him up to die simply for being a deserter, John insinuates there may be a bit more to the story but doesn't say anything else. The witcher may decide to either:
- Untie him and receive his thanks, but no coin
- Leave him to his fate and come back a day or two later to find additional drowners and the man's corpse
At this point the quest concludes, however if Geralt decides to untie the man and let him live the story can continue later in Novigrad.
If Freed
If allowed to live, John Verdun can be found later, northwest of the Border Post on Grassy Knoll, in a bandit encampment that was formerly a refugee camp. It appears that John and a group of bandits he'd gathered had caught up with the refugees that had tied him up and, in retaliation, proceeded to kill them and loot the area. Now that he has coin again, John then offers to pay Geralt for his previous kindness. The witcher may choose to accept the coin payment (50 
) or fight John and his friends (random loot drop).
Journal entry
This quest has no journal entry.
Objectives
This quest has no journal objectives.
Notes
- If John Verdun is allowed to live and you visit the refugee camp, you can find a letter from a refugee, likely intended to make you feel guilty for allowing John Verdun to live, resulting in the murder of so many innocents.
