Making the final call during the Ladies of the Wood quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt forces you to pick between two terrible options. There is no clean, heroic path here. You either sentence a group of innocent orphans to be eaten by monstrous crones or unleash an ancient, equally volatile entity that destroys an entire village and shatters the Bloody Baron's family.
To answer search intent instantly: the choice centers on whether you kill or free the tree spirit known as the Whispering Hillock. Sparing the spirit saves the orphans from Crookback Bog but causes the death of Downwarren's villagers and leads to the Bloody Baron's suicide. Killing the spirit ensures the Baron and his wife Anna survive in a grim, broken state, but leaves the children to meet a gruesome fate in the cooking pot.
Understanding how these interlocking mechanics work helps you weigh the moral weight of your decision before committing your save file.
The Setup: Crookback Bog and the Whispering Hillock
When Geralt tracks down Ciri's whereabouts, he finds himself knee-deep in the murky swamps of Crookback Bog. The local village of Downwarren is terrified, and the local crones—known collectively as the Ladies of the Wood—demand a task in exchange for information. They want you to deal with a malignant force trapped beneath the roots of the nearby Whispering Hillock.
The village elder tells you the spirit is a bloodthirsty monster responsible for dark curses and missing townsfolk. Meanwhile, the spirit itself claims the crones are tyrannical monsters who plan to harvest and eat the orphans living at the bog's orphanage.
You face an immediate fork in the road. You can trust the village elder and execute the spirit, or you can listen to the trapped entity, gather its remains, and perform a dark ritual to set it free.
Sparing the Tree Spirit: Outcomes and Fallout
Choosing to free the Black Beauty creates a cascade of devastating consequences across Velen.
Once liberated, the spirit doesn't simply vanish. It exacts immediate vengeance on Downwarren, slaughtering every single resident overnight. When you return to the village later, you'll find it completely depopulated and stalked by packs of wild dogs.
The good news? The orphans vanish from Crookback Bog just before the crones can consume them. Later in the game, you can find a note in a Novigrad orphanage confirming the children arrived safely, giving them a second chance at life.
The bad news hits the Bloody Baron's household with full force. Because you ruined the crones' plans, they curse Anna, turning her into a deformed water hag. Even when Geralt and Tamara manage to lift the curse using the correct doll, the psychological trauma proves too much. Anna dies shortly after reverting to her human form, and the grief-stricken Baron hangs himself outside Crow's Perch.
Killing the Tree Spirit: Outcomes and Fallout
Opting to execute the tree spirit changes the narrative tone into a different shade of tragedy.
When you refuse the spirit's bargains, it summons endrega workers to defend itself. Once you hack through its roots and strike down its heart, the threat beneath the hillock is neutralized. Downwarren remains safe, and its villagers survive without facing supernatural slaughter.
However, the crones collect their due. When you return to complete the quest, you learn that the orphans from the bog orphanage were sacrificed and eaten by the witches.
The domestic fallout for the Bloody Baron takes a slightly different shape. Anna is still cursed by the crones for failing to protect the children, but since the kids are already gone, the narrative triggers a different state. If you lift her curse correctly, she survives in a fragile, broken mental state. Rather than hanging himself, the Baron takes responsibility, packing up and carrying his wife off to a remote hermit in the Blue Mountains in search of a miracle cure. Tamara is left behind with the Witch Hunters, estranged and grief-stricken, but both of her parents remain breathing.
Common Mistakes and Missed Details
Many players stumble into unintended quest states because of sequence breaks or missing lore books.
- Freeing the spirit too early: If you explore the Whispering Hillock and free the spirit before taking the quest from the crones, the game triggers a bugged or unoptimized narrative state where the children disappear, but the game text doesn't properly account for it. Always follow the natural quest progression through Downwarren.
- Ignoring the in-game books: You can find literature scattered across Velen detailing the history of the Whispering Hillock. These texts reveal that the entity buried under the hill was once a druidic or motherly figure driven mad by worship and sacrifice, proving it is no innocent guardian.
- Misidentifying the curse dolls: When attempting to save Anna later in the game, picking the wrong doll instantly kills her via fire. Pay close attention to the purple hollyhock flower description to save her from immediate combustion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a secret "golden ending" where everyone survives?
No. CD Projekt Red deliberately designed this quest as a choice between two bad outcomes. You cannot save the orphans, keep Downwarren's villagers alive, and preserve the Baron's family all at once. Every path demands a heavy sacrifice.
What happens to Tamara in both scenarios?
Tamara's fate remains largely fixed regardless of your choice regarding the tree spirit. She joins the Witch Hunters of the Eternal Fire to find purpose away from her abusive home, and she maintains her distance from her parents throughout the rest of the campaign.
Does the tree spirit appear again later in the game?
No. Once the spirit is freed, it flies off in the shape of a black mare and never returns to the active game map. Its ultimate long-term impact on the world outside Velen is never explicitly shown.
Which choice is considered canon?
The Witcher series generally avoids establishing rigid canon choices for secondary quests, leaving the moral weight entirely in your hands as a player navigating the lesser of two evils. For additional background on how game design handles branching choices, check out the CD Projekt Red official site.
