The Great Escape in The Witcher 3: How to Free Margarita from Deireadh Prison
Witcher 3 The Great Escape: catch Abbé Faria, when Zoltan helps, the grave hag door lever, the warden's key and freeing Margarita (and Síle).
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Updated October 2026. The Great Escape is Yennefer's part of Final Preparations: break into Deireadh, the witch hunters' prison in Oxenfurt, and free Margarita Laux-Antille. You track down the one man who ever escaped, decide whether to ask Zoltan for help, crawl through elven ruins and sewers, and fight the warden for the cell key. One choice made much earlier, in Now or Never, decides how hard the prison is.
Quick answer
Start: meet Yennefer at Crippled Kate's in Novigrad, then catch Abbé Faria when he runs.
Zoltan (optional): ask him at the Rosemary and Thyme to get the guards drunk. He refuses if you completed Now or Never.
Way in: the well in Oxenfurt, through the elven ruins and sewers. Take the lever handle to open the door the grave hag guards.
Key: kill the Prison Warden in the courtyard and take the cell key. Free other prisoners before Margarita if you want to.
Reward: 300 XP. Suggested level 28.
The Great Escape Walkthrough
1. Crippled Kate's and Abbé Faria
Go to the Lacehalls in Novigrad and find Yennefer at a table in Crippled Kate's. She asks whose idea it was to go after Imlerith at Bald Mountain; she backs Geralt whatever you answer. Then Abbé Faria, the only man to escape Deireadh, walks in and bolts as soon as you talk to him.
Chase him along the canal. Close the gap and grab him, or stop him with Aard or Axii (see our signs guide). If you take too long, Yennefer teleports and catches him herself. Back inside, ask him about the corpses, the torture and the drunk guards.
2. Ask Zoltan for Help (Optional)
Before you leave for Oxenfurt, you can visit Zoltan at the Rosemary and Thyme. Whether he helps depends on Triss's quest:
| Your earlier choice | Zoltan | In the prison |
|---|---|---|
| You completed Now or Never (the mages escaped) | Refuses. The witch hunters are now targeting nonhumans. | All guards are sober and alert. |
| Now or Never not completed | Agrees to deliver beer to Deireadh | Many guards are drunk, so you fight fewer of them. Meet Zoltan in the courtyard at the end. |
3. The Well and the Elven Ruins
Meet Yennefer at the bridge into Oxenfurt and follow her to a blocked-off well. She gives Geralt a trinket so she can teleport to him once he finds Margarita. Jump in.
- The ruins hold chests in most chambers, some underwater. Drowners may show up.
- A grave hag guards a stone door whose mechanism is missing its handle. Take the handle from the mechanism of an open door in the next room, bring it back and open the way.
- Past the door, use Aard on the breakable wall. Ghouls and a rotfiend wait in the tight tunnels behind it, so fight them carefully (our oils guide lists the oil for necrophages).
- Follow the sewer to a hole in the wall that leads into the prison.
4. Inside Deireadh
Witch hunters in the first room attack once you climb in, unless Zoltan got them drunk. A sewer key in this room opens a grate in the sewers, an optional way out later. The next room is the cell block with more guards, and Margarita. If you spared Síle de Tansarville in The Witcher 2, she is in a cell here too. Margarita tells you the Prison Warden has the key.
Go up through the next door. Clear the room upstairs with a couple of witch hunters first, then step into the courtyard. The alarm bell rings and everyone attacks: witch hunters, shield bearers and crossbowmen on the walls. The warden usually joins the fight himself. Kill him and loot the cell key. He also carries Gwent cards if you didn't win them in A Dangerous Game.
Free other prisoners first. You lose the key once you open Margarita's cell. If you want to free the other prisoners, unlock their cells before hers. It only earns their thanks, plus Trapped mage's notes in one cell.
5. Free Margarita and Get Out
Open Margarita's cell. Geralt uses the trinket and Yennefer teleports in. If Síle is there, she asks for a dignified death, and either you or Yennefer gives it. The sorceresses teleport out and Geralt leaves on his own: through a broken section of the west wall, or back through the sewers. If Zoltan helped, talk to him in the courtyard to finish the quest.
Rewards and Loot
| Reward | How |
|---|---|
| 300 XP | Finish the quest |
| Gwent cards | On the warden, if not won in A Dangerous Game |
| Diagram: Enhanced Feline trousers | In the sewer section where freed prisoners hide |
| Trapped mage's notes | In a cell, if you free the other prisoners |
If you used the secret passage into Junior's mansion during Get Junior, you can use it again to leave. One room above the courtyard holds a List of prisoners: the names are friends and associates of the developers.
What's Next
The Great Escape is one of three quests in Final Preparations. Finish Payback and Blindingly Obvious too, then go to the Lodge meeting. Through Time and Space follows; see our Through Time and Space walkthrough.
Video: The Great Escape
Frequently Asked Questions
QWhy won't Zoltan help in The Great Escape?
If you completed Now or Never and the mages escaped, the witch hunters start targeting nonhumans, so Zoltan refuses. Without his help, the guards stay sober.
QHow do I catch Abbé Faria?
Run him down along the canal, or hit him with Aard or Axii when you're close. If you take too long, Yennefer teleports and catches him.
QHow do I open the door the grave hag guards?
Its mechanism is missing a handle. Take the handle from the mechanism of an open door in the next room and bring it back.
QWhere is the key to Margarita's cell?
The Prison Warden carries it. He joins the courtyard fight; kill him and loot the key.
QCan I save Síle de Tansarville?
No. If she survived The Witcher 2, she is in the cells and asks for a dignified death. Either Geralt or Yennefer gives it.
QShould I free the other prisoners?
Optional. Unlock their cells before Margarita's, since you lose the key after. You only get their thanks and some notes.
Part of: Final Preparations. More: all Witcher 3 quests.
Sources: in-game quest text and journal; steps checked against the Witcher Wiki and Fextralife pages for The Great Escape. Screenshots: gameplay frames from YouTube walkthroughs by SubQuest404, Jason's Video Games Source, Attila The Hun, Quick Tips and nathonas.
Kai Mercer covers game news, free games, release calendars and guides for xGamerss.
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