The Incident at White Orchard and Imperial Audience in The Witcher 3: Walkthrough, Voorhis Answers and Should You Bow to Emhyr
Witcher 3 Incident at White Orchard and Imperial Audience: which quests fail when you leave, how to answer Voorhis (Letho), bowing to Emhyr, and what's next.
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Updated October 2026. The Incident at White Orchard and Imperial Audience close the prologue of The Witcher 3. The first is a one-minute bar fight that pulls you out of White Orchard for good. The second is the trip to Vizima where Emperor Emhyr hires you to find Ciri. Neither has a hard fight, but both have things you can miss: side quests that fail when you leave, and General Voorhis's questions, which quietly set what happened in The Witcher 2.
Quick answer
Before you talk to Vesemir: finish the White Orchard side quests. Five of them fail the moment the story moves you to Vizima.
Voorhis's questions: the one that really matters is Letho. Say he is alive if you want the quest Ghosts of the Past and his help at Kaer Morhen.
Bow to Emhyr or not: it changes a few lines and nothing else. The three outfits are cosmetic too.
Next: Velen (The Nilfgaardian Connection) is the natural first stop. Novigrad and Skellige open at the same time.
The Incident at White Orchard Walkthrough
The quest starts when you return to the White Orchard inn after The Beast of White Orchard and talk to Vesemir. A cutscene plays: a group of drunk bandits wants trouble, Vesemir says it's time to go, and the two of you end up fighting anyway.
- Kill the bandits. They are weak. Use Quen if you are low on health, and keep moving so you are not surrounded. If you are still learning the combat, our combat tips for beginners and parry and counterattack guide cover the basics.
- After the fight the innkeeper throws you out. Outside, a Nilfgaardian detachment is waiting, led by Yennefer.
- The story then takes you straight to Vizima. There is no free roam in between.
What Fails When You Leave White Orchard
Talking to Vesemir at the inn ends your stay in White Orchard. These side quests fail if they are still open: A Frying Pan, Spick and Span, Missing in Action, On Death's Bed, Precious Cargo and Twisted Firestarter. Faithful Friend is the one White Orchard side quest that does not fail.
The region itself is not lost: you can come back later for treasure and gear, like the Viper School set covered in our White Orchard secrets guide. It's only the side quests that close.
Imperial Audience Walkthrough
1. The Bath and the Shave
You wake up in a guest room of the Vizima palace, in a bath. The chamberlain Mererid and his assistant Cledwyn come in to get you ready for the emperor. Mererid doesn't like facial hair, so your beard is shaved off. It grows back over time.
During the shave, General Morvran Voorhis walks in and asks you about your past. If you chose to simulate a Witcher 2 save at the start of a new game, these answers set your Witcher 2 history. If not, the game uses a default history and Voorhis only asks a short question about his men.
How to Answer Voorhis
| Question | Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Did you kill Aryan La Valette? | Your choice | Small changes in the quest Broken Flowers (Maria Louisa La Valette and Molly). More in our Aryan guide. |
| Did you side with Roche or Iorveth? | Your choice | One conversation option in Get Junior, at Roche's camp. |
| Who did you save: Triss, Anaïs (Roche) or Saskia (Iorveth)? | Your choice | Nothing big. Triss is in The Witcher 3 either way. |
| Did you spare Síle de Tansarville? | Your choice | If she survived, she makes a short appearance in The Great Escape. |
| Did you kill or spare Letho? | Spared (if you want the content) | If you say Letho is dead, the side quest Ghosts of the Past is gone and Letho can't help at the Battle of Kaer Morhen. See our Letho guide. |
2. Choose an Outfit and Learn to Bow
Loot the bookshelves and chests in the room: there are three court outfits, plus books and alchemy ingredients. The outfit you wear has no effect on the story. You can sell the other two. Then Mererid tests your etiquette. The correct answer for the bow is "Left leg forward, right hand on chest."
3. Meet Emperor Emhyr var Emreis
Follow Mererid through the palace. In front of the emperor you can bow or not. Emhyr reacts differently to the first lines, then the conversation goes the same way: he offers you a contract to find Ciri, who is being chased by the Wild Hunt, and promises a very large payment. How you treat Ciri from here on decides which ending you get, see all Witcher 3 endings.
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Bow to Emhyr | Emhyr opens the talk politely. Mererid walks you back with routine instructions. |
| Don't bow | Emhyr comments on it. Mererid is angry and says he will probably be punished for it. No other consequence. |
4. Talk to Yennefer
Mererid takes you to Yennefer's quarters. Ignore Ambassador var Attre for now and go into the next room. Yennefer confirms what Emhyr said and lays out the plan:
- Velen: find an imperial agent, a merchant named Hendrik.
- Novigrad: look up Triss Merigold.
- Skellige: Yennefer goes there herself to investigate a magical explosion.
After she teleports away, loot the rest of the room. On the Complete Edition (patch 4.0 and later), the chest in Yennefer's room holds the Dol Blathanna and White Tiger of the West armor sets. If you miss them, you can come back once the world map opens. For more on her, see our Yennefer guide.
5. Ambassador var Attre and Your Gear
Talk to Ambassador var Attre for a briefing on the war, then pick up your equipment from Mererid at the door to finish the quest. A nobleman in the palace plays Gwent, but only after the quest is done, and his deck is full of hero and special cards, so come back later with a stronger deck (see our Gwent cards guide). The palace exit is a fast travel point.
Rewards and Next Quests
| Quest | Main reward | Leads to |
|---|---|---|
| The Incident at White Orchard | XP for the bandit fight | Imperial Audience |
| Imperial Audience | No XP. Court outfit, loot from the palace rooms | The Nilfgaardian Connection (Velen), Pyres of Novigrad, Destination Skellige |
All three Act I leads open at once. Velen is the usual first choice: its quests fit your level right after the prologue, and Hendrik is the lead Yennefer gives you first.
Video: Imperial Audience
Frequently Asked Questions
QShould you bow to Emhyr in The Witcher 3?
It doesn't matter. Bowing or not changes a few lines from Emhyr and the chamberlain, and nothing else in the story.
QWhat should I tell Voorhis about Letho?
Say Letho is alive (you spared him) if you want the side quest Ghosts of the Past and Letho as an ally at the Battle of Kaer Morhen. Saying he is dead removes both.
QWhich quests fail after The Incident at White Orchard?
A Frying Pan, Spick and Span; Missing in Action; On Death's Bed; Precious Cargo; and Twisted Firestarter. Faithful Friend stays open.
QCan I go back to White Orchard?
Yes. The region opens again later, so treasure and gear are still there. Only the side quests listed above are lost.
QDoes the outfit choice in Imperial Audience matter?
No. All three court outfits are cosmetic. Pick any of them.
QWhat quest comes after Imperial Audience?
Act I opens with three leads: The Nilfgaardian Connection in Velen, Pyres of Novigrad, and Destination Skellige. Most players start in Velen.
Before this: Lilac and Gooseberries and The Beast of White Orchard. More: all Witcher 3 quests.
Sources: in-game quest text and journal; steps, Voorhis questions and failed quests checked against the Witcher Wiki and GameBanshee walkthroughs for The Incident at White Orchard and Imperial Audience. Screenshots: gameplay frames from YouTube walkthroughs.
Kai Mercer covers game news, free games, release calendars and guides for xGamerss.
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