Ladies of the Wood Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Quest
Suggested level: 6
Group: Main Quests
Location: Velen
This quest will appear in your journal when, during the Wandering in the Dark quest, you reach the lab of an elven mage, Keira will tell you about the witches and give you the "The Ladies of the Wood" book.
Information found in the home of Hendrik, the Nilfgaardian agent, indicated Ciri had entered into conflict with some witch in Velen. At first Geralt thought this "witch" was Keira Metz, but he later learned Hendrik had meant a different individual, one who dwelt in Crookback Bog. So the witcher ventured into the swamps, determined to find this bog-dwelling witch and ask her about Ciri.
Related points of interest
Shrine
Velen / Novigrad
The Orphans of Crookback Bog
Velen / Novigrad
Johnny's Burrow
Velen / Novigrad
Raven Nest
Velen / Novigrad
Downwarren
Velen / Novigrad
Ancient Oak
Velen / Novigrad
Cave Beneath the Whispering Hillock
Velen / Novigrad
Prior quests
To begin Ladies of the Wood you must first complete Wandering in the Dark.
Quest stages of Ladies of the Wood
1. Read "The Ladies of the Wood."
Read the book you got from Keira.
The Ladies of the Wood
The gods have abandoned us. The mighty of this earth care not for our fate. Only the Ladies of the Wood watch over Velen. In foul times, when plague and famine reap their harvest, we must beg the Ladies for help. If they see fit, they will hear our pleas and knock back fortune's foul blows.
This is how one begs help from the Ladies:
Find a child, young and innocent, and take it to Crookback Bog. Seek out the Ladies' shrine - 'tis where the Trail of Treats begins. Set the child off on the trail and it shall follow the sweet track and find the Good Ladies. The child will never want for anything again, for the Ladies are kind and generous.
Stand before their shrine, pronounce your supplication and the Good Ladies will hear, for they see and hear all that takes place in their demesne. If you made the offering as it must be done, your plea shall be heard.
2. Find the Crones of Crookback Bog.
2.1. Use your Witcher Senses to find the shrine that marks the start of the Trail of Treats.
Find and examine the Shrine that Keira told you about.
2.2. Follow the Trail of Treats using your Witcher Senses.
Follow the trail marked by sweets hanging along the road and you will reach some buildings.
There you'll meet some orphans and their caretaker, a woman named Gran. During the conversation one of the kids will mention someone named Johnny, but the woman won't let him say anything else. She won't want to answer your questions either, and she'll take the kid who apparently knows something with her to one of the huts.
3. Go to the hut and talk to the boy.
Go into the hut and try to talk to the boy again. The woman will try to stop you, and the boy will look scared and won't be too talkative either. Apparently, he's afraid of Gran.
4. Find a way to lure Gran away from the hut.
You need to find a way to lure the woman out of the hut so you can talk to the boy. The other kids will help you with that.
4.1. Ask the children in the swamp village about Ciri.
Go outside and talk to the other children. They will agree to help you but first you have to do something for them - they want you to play hide and seek with them. If you ask them if there is any other option, they will tell you that they will do it in exchange for a little bit of sweets. It seems that Geralt always has treats at hand, so this solution seems to be the easiest and fastest.
4.1.1. (Optional) Find the hidden children using your Witcher Senses. 0/4
Using your senses, you'll be able to see the footprints of the kids. You'll find two of them at the back of the biggest building, Yagna is hiding in the bushes and Genny is hiding in a haystack.
Aynara is hiding behind the building where Gran and Travik are.
You will find Mikula inside another house.
The kids will lure Gran out of the hut and so you will be able to talk to Travik. He'll tell you that Johnny met a girl with ashen hair and where you can find him.
5. Look for Johnny in the swamp using your Witcher Senses. / Find Johnny's footprints.
Go to the place the boy mentioned. There you will find a few drowners (6) and a water hag (6) that you will have to kill first. When you get rid of them, find the footprints of Johnny.
6. Follow Johnny's footprints using your Witcher Senses. / Lure Johnny out of his burrow.
The footprints will lead you to a small burrow. Come to the entrance and call Johnny and he'll come out after a while.
Johnny will nod to you that he met Ciri but won't be able to tell you anything because he lost his voice. When Geralt asks him if he can help him, he'll show you to follow him.
7. Follow Johnny. / Defeat the monsters.
Follow Johnny and kill the drowners that stand in your way. Johnny will lead you near the cliff and point at the nest on top of it.
8. Search the raven nest.
Climb up, kill three harpies (6) guarding the Raven Nest, and maybe also a wyverne (9) flying nearby. Check the nest and take Sealed bottle. In the nest you will also find a Raven's feather. It could be used in another quest - The Whispering Hillock.
9. Give the bottle to Johnny.
Go back to Johnny and give him the bottle found in the nest. When he uncork it, he'll get his voice back. He will tell you that he saw Ciri running towards the village where the orphanage is located and that he will help convince Gran to help you.
10. Follow Johnny to the swamp village. / Defeat the monsters.
Go to the orphanage with Johnny. Kill the drowners and the water hag that will stand in your way. When you get there, Johnny will convince Gran to help you contact the crones.
Gran will take you to the biggest building so far inaccessible to you and perform a ritual that will allow you to talk to them.
In exchange for information about Ciri, crones demand help in the fight against "a dark power". More information will be provided to you by the ealdorman of Downwarren. From Gran you will receive a dagger which will help you to complete the task.
11. Talk to the ealdorman of Downwarren about the village's problem.
Go to the Downwarren village and talk to the ealdorman. Geralt will show him the dagger he received from the Gran and then the man will tell you about "the dark power" that took over The Whispering Hillock.
12. Find out what's killing villagers from Downwarren.
Go near the Ancient Oak. If you have not finished it yet, then you will get a new quest - The Whispering Hillock.
13. Find a passage leading under the hill using your Witcher Senses. / Explore the cave.
Find the entrance to the Cave Beneath the Whispering Hillock. There is a werewolf (8) near the entrance that you can try to skip it, but it is best to kill it.
Enter the cave, and follow the flooded corridor to the largest cavern where you will find a large beating heart trapped between the roots of a tree.
14. Solve Downwarren's problem.
To solve this problem, you must complete The Whispering Hillock quest, which means that you must decide the fate of the spirit trapped under the tree. Your choice will have a major impact on the Bloody Baron's family, fate of Downwarren's villagers, and the orphans in Crookback Bog.
15. Tell the ealdorman of Downwarren you took care of the problem. / Put the ealdorman's payment on the stone.
When you free or kill the spirit, go to the ealdorman of Downwarren who will be waiting for you near the first entrance to the Cave Beneath the Whispering Hillock. Tell him what you did and remind him about the payment. He will take from you the dagger you received earlier and use it to cut off his ear - that's what the crones expect to receive for their help.
Then you will automatically travel to an orphanage in the marshes where you will place the ear you received on a stone and meet the crones. If you saved a spirit trapped under the tree, then the crones will be angry that the children have run away and decide to punish Gran, who is actually the Baron's wife, Anna.
Then, as promised earlier, they will tell you about their meeting with Ciri - Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog quest.
Once their story is finished, you can react as you like to what they told you. After a while, the witches will disappear in the haze and the quest will be over.
Hendrik had known but a portion of the truth and his notes had led Geralt astray. Ciri had in truth come into conflict with the three Crones of Crookback Bog. They had wanted to hand her over to one of the generals of the Wild Hunt named Imlerith. But Ciri escaped their clutches and fled the swamps before their vile plan could come to fruition.