Ladies of the Wood is one of the darkest main quests in The Witcher 3. Following the warning from Wandering in the Dark, Geralt heads into Crookback Bog to find the witches of the swamp. They know where Ciri went, but the Ladies of the Wood, better known as the Crones, never give anything away for free.
How to start Ladies of the Wood
The quest starts at the end of Wandering in the Dark. Read the book The Ladies of the Wood that Keira gave you, a fairy tale about witches who take in children and listen to those who pray at their shrine. It is a level 6 quest worth 750 XP in total.
The orphans and Johnny
A shrine and a trail of treats lead to the orphanage, where a group of children sing an unsettling rhyme and an old woman called Gran looks after them, not quite all there. The only one who knows the way forward is a boy called Travik, and Gran will not let Geralt near him. Win the other children over with treats or a game of hide and seek, and they lure Gran away. Travik points Geralt to Johnny, a godling who lives in the bog.
Johnny has lost his voice, and it is sealed in a bottle in a raven’s nest on a cliff. Fetch it, and the little godling cannot stop talking. He saw Ciri run past the orphanage and leads Geralt back to Gran, who will talk to him.
The Crones’ price
Through Gran, the Crones agree to help, for a price. Geralt has to visit the ealdorman of Downwarren with a special dagger and solve the village’s problem: something is killing people near an ancient oak. Inside the hill under the tree, Geralt finds a beating heart trapped in the roots, which starts The Whispering Hillock. Once that is settled, the ealdorman pays the Crones in the only currency they accept: he cuts off his own ear.
Gran’s secret
When Geralt places the ear on the offering stone, the Crones appear and order Gran to bring it to them. A mark burns on her hand, and Geralt recognises it: Gran is Anna Strenger, the Baron’s missing wife. She made a pact with the Crones to lose her unborn child, in exchange for a year of service, fattening up orphans that the Crones eventually eat. The Crones then tell the story of what happened to Ciri, which plays out as Ciri’s Story: Fleeing the Bog, before they vanish with a threat.
Tips
- Geralt always seems to have treats, so the quickest way past the children is to just give them some.
- If you already did The Whispering Hillock, the Downwarren part of the quest is skipped.
- Afterwards, report to the Baron to continue Family Matters.
