Walkthrough for the quest Return to Crookback Bog in the game Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This page covers all main objectives, key steps, or helpful tips to guide you through the quest smoothly. Whenever possible, the guide points out locations for key items and details interactions with NPCs, among other tips. To ensure maximum clarity, in-game screenshots are included for easy-to-follow visual guidance.
Quest Group: Secondary Quests
Suggested level: 9
Location: Velen
Prerequisites: To play this quest, you must first complete the quest Family Matters.
You will be able to play this quest after completing the Family Matters quest. The baron will head to the marshes to free his wife from the hands of the crones and you will be able to join him and help him with that.
As you recall, the self-proclaimed baron of Velen had asked Geralt to find his missing family. And so, ever a man of his word, find them he did. Tamara, the baron's daughter, he found in Oxenfurt, where she had joined the witch hunters. As for Anna, the baron's wife, she had been kidnapped by the Crones and made their slave, in fulfillment of a bargain she had struck with them earlier. Hearing this, the baron swore to free Anna, with or without the witcher's help, and set off to the place in the bog where Geralt had seen his wife.
Downwarren
Velen / Novigrad
The Orphans of Crookback Bog
Velen / Novigrad
Johnny's Burrow
Velen / Novigrad
Go to the village of Downwarren where you will meet the baron and the ealdorman. If you have freed the spirit trapped under the tree, the village will be severely damaged and many of its residents will be dead. The ealdorman will tell you about a group of witch hunters, among whom was a girl, who recently passed through the village and went to the swamps.
The Baron decides to head to the swamps right away. You can go there together with him or you can use the fast travel option to The Orphans of Crookback Bog. If you go with the baron, don't stray too far away from him and assist him and his men in killing the drowners and water hags you meet on the way.
If you go too far away, the quest will end in failure.
The witcher never saw the baron again. Perhaps the upstart lord of Velen died in the swamps while trying to find his wife - or perhaps he wanders there still to this day...
When you get to the orphanage, you'll find witch hunters and the baron's daughter - Tamara, fighting the drowners. Help them kill all the monsters. Depending on whether you have talked to Tamara and Graden in Oxenfurt before, the dialogues between you will be slightly different.
The baron will be happy to see his daughter, but Tamara will still be very angry with him for what he did to her mother. Eventually you will start looking around for Anna. You will find her in the building with the tapestry. If you killed the spirit trapped under the tree, Anna will still be human, but what she went through made her lose her mind.
If you've freed the spirit, you'll find that witches have punished Anna for not keeping an eye on the children by turning her into a monster.
In both cases, when all of you will try to determine what to do next, a terrible roar will come to you from the marshes.
After a while, which you can use to prepare yourself for the fight, you will be attacked by a few drowners and water hags and finally by the giant fiend. Kill them all.
Once you've dealt with all the monsters, then depending on the state of Anna, the rest of the quest will go differently.
If Anna is a human being, the baron will take her with him and set off to some hermit in the hope that he will be able to help and cure her. The quest will end and you will receive 100 crowns.
Geralt decided to help the baron and went with him into the bog. There they ran into unexpected company: Tamara, accompanied by a band of witch hunters, had also ventured out in search of Anna.
They joined forces and, in the end, Anna was found, but, sadly, her mind was lost for good. Driven near mad himself with grief, the baron swore he would take his addled wife away from Velen and search the whole world for someone able to help her. As for Tamara, she and the witch hunters returned to Novigrad. And then... well, dear reader, the ultimate fate of the baron and his family is a tale for another time.
...or, if Anna is turned into a monster, Geralt will decide to try to remove the curse cast on her by the crones.
Geralt decided to help the baron and ventured with him into the bog. There they happened upon unexpected company - Tamara and a band of witch hunters, who had also set out in search of Anna.
They joined forces and found Anna, sadly turned into a terrible beast by a curse the Crones had cast. Geralt decided he would try to lift the curse and went to Johnny, the godling, for help.
In order to lift the curse from Anna, Geral must learn something about this curse. He'll come to the conclusion that Johnny may have seen something and will be able to help him.
Go to the burrow where Johnny lives. You won't find him there, but just the two drowners and a water hag which you'll have to kill. Find Johnny's footprints and follow them until you find him sleeping in a shack. Johnny will tell you about the hidden cellar where you'll probably be able to find something to help you lift the curse from Anna.
Go back to the others and tell them what you found out. No matter what you say, Graden decides to enter the basement together with you.
The entrance to the basement is in the building with the tapestry. When you go down, you will find some dolls there. Graden will explain their role to you but it will be up to you to decide which doll is related to the curse cast on Anna. It's the doll with the violet hollyhock bloom attached to it.
If you choose a correct doll, the curse will be lifted. Unfortunately the crones turned out to be smarter than you thought, and Anna will die after a while. But before this happens, the baron, his wife and daughter will be able to reconcile.
And Johnny, as always, proved very helpful indeed. He revealed to Geralt that the Crones worked their magic in the cellar of the hut with the tapestry. When Geralt and Graden descended down into it, they found a collection of dolls with various items attached to them. They tried to lift the curse by removing the doll that represented Anna, but their efforts ended in catastrophe - Anna's curse was lifted, but she died soon afterwards, for the Crones had constructed it to leave death as its parting gift. Following her mother's death, Tamara returned to Oxenfurt, her spirits crushed. The baron, in no less foul a mood, went back to Crow's Perch. Geralt watched him walk away, wondering if he would ever see the man again.
Choosing the wrong doll will cause Anna to burn alive.
And Johnny, as always, proved very helpful indeed. He revealed to Geralt that the Crones worked their magic in the basement of the hut with the tapestry. When Geralt and Graden descended into the basement, they found a collection of dolls with various items attached to them. They tried to reverse the curse by removing the doll that represented Anna, but their efforts ended in catastrophe - Anna burst into flames and died. Tamara returned to Oxenfurt following her mother's death, her spirits crushed. The baron, in no less foul a mood, went back to Crow's Perch. Geralt watched him walk away, wondering if he would ever see the man again.
In both cases, the Baron will be devastated. Before he leaves, he will tell you to come to Crow's Perch to collect your payment.
When you reach the castle, you will see that baron hanged himself in despair after losing a loved one on a tree in the courtyard. Even so, you will receive 100 crowns and the quest will be completed.
In the end, Geralt decided he would look in on the baron. When he reached Crow's Perch, he inquired after the man but was saddened to learn he was dead. The lord of Velen had hanged himself, ending his reign and his sorrow.
