Witcher 3 Ladies of the Wood (Ladies of the Wood) is a main quest in Velen. Three sisters from Crookback Bog whom villagers worship as the Good Ladies. The quest takes you through the swamps, to Ciri, and to a choice at the spirit in the tree that decides the orphans, Downwarren, and the fate of the Bloody Baron. After five playthroughs I still do not know what is right. Every time I chose differently at that oak.
What the Ladies of the Wood quest is
Velen’s main line, the search for Ciri, the crones, and the choice at the spirit in the tree. It starts at Crow’s Perch with the Bloody Baron and runs through the bog orphanage all the way to the Wild Hunt.
Three sisters, Weavess, Brewess, and Whispess, really rule here. Across the map you run into their wooden shrines. Villagers talk about the Trail of Treats, when parents leave children in the woods at the sisters’ mercy. On the tapestry they look like beautiful women. In the swamps they do not.
How you stumble onto the quest
At Crow’s Perch you talk to the baron about Ciri. Villagers send you to the old oak, something there is killing people. At the oak there is a werewolf and under the roots a spirit in the tree, the side quest Whispering Hillock (Whispering Hillock). The crones call you into Crookback Bog.
The spirit says the sisters hold him in the roots and that the orphans in the bog are in danger. The crones want you to kill the spirit and bring an ear from the sacrifice stone by the mill.
The Trail of Treats and the ear on the stone
Once you finish Whispering Hillock at the old oak, a villager gives you a cut-off ear as an offering for the crones. The sisters want it as proof you served them. In Velen the Trail of Treats applies: whoever wants the Good Ladies’ protection pays with a piece of the body. The ear on the sacrifice stone by the mill is that ritual. Whispess wears similar trophies on a string, and that is no coincidence.
The game moves you back to Crookback Bog in a cutscene. On a boulder with bloody handprints you place the ear on the rock. Only then do Weavess, Brewess, and Whispess appear by the hut, all three in their true form.
Meeting the crones
By the hut in the swamps a long dialogue about Ciri begins. It is worth not skipping it. They claim they looked after her. In the flashback Ciri’s Story: Fleeing the Bog you see she ran because they meant to hand her to Imlerith. Ciri was in the bog before Geralt was. The line continues on Skellige.
The big fork: spirit in the tree
You kill the spirit under the oak, or you free him with a ritual. This is the hardest choice in the whole Witcher for me. It affects the orphans at the bog, the village of Downwarren, and Anna Strenger, the baron’s wife. After five playthroughs I ended up somewhere different every time.
You kill the spirit (or do not free him)
You do what the crones want. The orphans at the bog die and the sisters eat them. Anna survives but is barely holding on. The Baron finds her, takes her to a healer, and leaves Velen. He survives. A sergeant stays in the region and he raids villages.
You free the spirit
You need raven feathers, bones at the grave by the bog, and a black horse (you lead him to the oak with Axii). The spirit saves the orphans from the swamp. He burns Downwarren and the villagers fall. The crones curse Anna into a water hag.
In Return to Crookback Bog you pick a doll in the cellar. The right one has a purple nightshade, which the baron said earlier was Anna’s favorite flower. Any other and Anna bursts into flame and dies as a water hag. Even with the right doll the curse breaks, Anna says goodbye to her family, and soon after she dies. In both cases the baron hangs himself at Crow’s Perch. The first time I got it right away because I remembered the baron’s dialogue.
| Choice | Orphans | Downwarren | Anna | Baron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kill / do not free the spirit | Die | Lives | Lives (barely) | Survives, leaves with Anna |
| Free the spirit | Live | Sacked | Water hag, always dies (doll only changes how) | Always hangs himself |
Orphans, the bog, and Gran
The orphanage in the bog is where Anna raised children from villages wrecked by the war. In the hut you meet Gran and the orphans. What happens to them you only decide at the oak. There is no extra “in time” step. When you free the spirit they later end up with Marabella in Novigrad. When you kill him you only find traces in the orphanage.
Ciri, Imlerith, and what comes next
In the flashback Ciri’s Story: Fleeing the Bog you see how Ciri ran from Imlerith, general of the Wild Hunt. The sisters meant to hand her over. The crones vanish from the bog for a while.
Geralt and Ciri meet the crones again only after the battle of Kaer Morhen (The Battle of Kaer Morhen). In the quest Blood on the Battlefield (Blood on the Battlefield) Ciri learns Imlerith will ride to the witch sabbat on Bald Mountain in Velen. The crones will be there with him.
In the quest Bald Mountain (Bald Mountain) you reach the hill together. On the mountain you split up. Geralt goes after Imlerith and beats him in the final fight. Ciri goes after the crones and kills Brewess and Whispess. Weavess survives, steals Vesemir’s wolf medallion from Ciri after Vesemir dies, and vanishes as a flock of crows.
Common mistakes
- Leave the oak without deciding — the quest hangs until you deal with the spirit or finish the sisters’ task.
- Wrong doll at the water hag — only applies when you freed the spirit. There are four dolls in the cellar. The right one has purple nightshade. Beads, an ear, or a feather are traps.
The verdict after you finish the game is in the Witcher 3 review, including the branch with the baron and Velen. The epilogue with a crone at the orphans is in the all endings guide. Unmarked side quests: hidden quests in Velen. More on the Witcher 3 hub.