The Mad Castaway of Undvik

The Mad Castaway of Undvik is a side character in The Witcher 3. You can meet The Mad Castaway of Undvik on Skellige.

From the journal

Geralt's encounter with the crazed man building an enormous ship while conversing with the cut-off heads of his former crew was, to say the least, an unusual experience.

Though this strange shipbuilder was forced into his labors by the ice giant and his bloodthirsty sirens, it seemed his work had become a kind of escape for his beleaguered mind.

Surely that was why this unfortunate man showed such dedication to his dubiously worthy cause.

Read on (3 paragraphs) – reveals how the story continues

In the end Geralt learned the true identity of the mad shipbuilder of Undvik. He was in fact Harald Houndsnout, a jarl who was thought to have been killed by the giant along with his crew.

Though rumors about his death were clearly exaggerated, it was hard to say whether surviving had not proved the worse fate.

News of the Giant's death clearly delighted the madman - but he rejected the witcher's offer to take him back to Ard Skellig. For some reason he felt he could not rest until he finished building the ship.

Depending on the outcome: … He could not live with the knowledge that he had failed as leader of his clan, and thus was determined to build a ship to serve as his funeral pyre.