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The "Ladies of the Wood" quest is a big turning point for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It could very well be the last main quest players experience in Velen, and it features several memorable encounters. It also features a critical choice that will change how things play out later in the game.
The quest itself is relatively simple and straightforward, but it's hard to know which of Geralt's choices is important and what will happen as a result. So aside from explaining how to complete the quest, this guide will point out which decision will have the greatest consequences later on in The Witcher 3.
Starting the Quest
"Ladies of the Wood" starts immediately after the main quest "Wandering in the Dark." After helping Keira Metz in the elven ruins, the sorceress gives Geralt a book titled The Ladies of the Wood. Reading this book will tell Geralt how to find the Ladies of Velen and add its instructions to the quest objectives.
Step one is to find and follow the "Trail of Treats." The best place to start is at the village of Downwarren, but Geralt's destination is visible on the map and it's very possible to run into it accidentally by wandering through the swamp. Either way, a cutscene will begin once Geralt reaches the orphanage.
Hide and Seek (or Don't)
In the middle of the swamp, Geralt will encounter three buildings, five orphans, and an old woman called "Gran" who cares for them. After a discussion, Geralt will learn he needs to meet someone named Johnny, but Gran won't let Geralt speak to the boy who knows where to find him.
The other orphans offer to help, but only if Geralt does something for them. He can either play hide-and-seek with the children, or he can give them treats. Curiously, Geralt can always give the orphans treats even if the player empties his inventory before talking to them. However, if the player chooses hide-and-seek, Geralt can use his witcher senses to find the four children in the following locations:
- Follow the footprints to the smallest building and find Mikula inside.
- A second set of footprints leads across the chapel roof to a noisy haystack where Genny is hiding.
- A third set of footprints goes around the chapel to a corner surrounded by bushes. Yagna is hiding here.
- The last footprints go through Gran's hut, out the window on the far side, and into some bushes where Geralt can find Aynara.
Johnny's Woes
After speaking to the boy about Johnny, Geralt can head east of the orphanage to find a water hag and two drowners. Use witcher senses on this spot to find a set of footprints and follow them to Johnny the godling's burrow. Unfortunately, Johnny can't help Geralt at the moment since he lost his voice, but Geralt can help him get it back.
Geralt must follow Johnny to a ledge, climb up to a harpy nest, and take the bottle it contains. Geralt can also find this bottle before the quest begins, and if he has it he'll give it to Johnny the moment he sees the nest. This nest also contains a raven's feather, which can come in handy later.
Once Johnny gets his voice back, he tells Geralt all he knows, which isn't much. However, he also convinces Gran to help by contacting the Ladies of the Wood.
The Ladies' Request
The Ladies will speak to Geralt through Gran, and while they know about Ciri they won't say anything until he helps them. Supposedly, a dark force trapped under an oak tree is harming the village of Downwarren and they want Geralt to destroy it. For th quest, Geralt must head to Downwarren and speak to the ealdorman, which starts the separate quest "The Whispering Hillock." Much like the bottle, Geralt may have completed this quest before reaching this point.
The Whispering Hillock
After getting details from the ealdorman, Geralt will find the oak tree southeast of the orphanage. Sure enough, Geralt can find human bones scattered around its base. A cave on the west side of the hillock (right next to the Place of Power) leads underneath, though it's guarded by a werewolf.
After swimming through a small underground tunnel, Geralt will find a beating, speaking heart that will ask him for help. It claims the Ladies bound it ages ago and will kill the orphans soon, but it can save them if Geralt frees it from the Ladies' curse. At this point, Geralt has three choices.
- Geralt can refuse to help and kill the heart. If he does, the heart will summon endrega workers to defend it. Simply kill the workers, attack the heart until its health drops, kill the next wave of workers, and repeat.
- Geralt can agree to help, which means gathering several items: a raven's feather, the spirit's remains, and a wild, black horse. Geralt should already have the feather, the remains are under a grave a short jog west, and the black horse is due south near a road marker called "Crossroads." Players will need to use Axii on the horse to ride it.
- Geralt can trick the spirit by gathering the items but refusing to perform the ritual. This has the same result as killing the heart, but it skips the endrega battle.
Be very careful with this decision, because it can affect Downwarren, the orphans, Gran, and even the Bloody Baron. This guide will avoid spoiling what happens to them, but like most decisions in The Witcher franchise bad things will happen to someone no matter what Geralt does.
Meeting the Ladies
After dealing with the spirit, the ealdorman will provide a payment for the Ladies. If Geralt is at the Whispering Hillock, don't go back to Downwarren because the ealdorman has come to the hillock. Afterwards, Geralt will return to the orphanage and speak to the Ladies. At this point they don't know that Geralt freed the spirit (assuming he did), and so they'll blame Gran if the orphans are gone and give Geralt the information he asked for. In addition, if Geralt has already completed the other branch of the Velen main quest the Ladies will offer some information about Gran.
At this point, the player will watch a short flashback and control Ciri during a fight, but the best option is to ignore all the enemies and run straight for the objective marker. Afterwards, Geralt will promise to make the Ladies pay for what they did, but they retreat into fog before he can act. This marks the end of "Ladies of the Wood," but the consequences of Geralt's decision will be felt for some time to come.
General Tips
- Keep necrophage oil handy. Geralt will encounter harpies, wolves, and a werewolf on this quest, but the main enemies are drowners and water hags.
- Players who want to experience this quest in the proper order should avoid the swamp entirely until they're ready to begin "Ladies of the Wood."
- Freeing the spirit before starting "Ladies of the Wood" may lead to a worse set of consequences. However, killing the spirit early will cause things to proceed normally.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.