The Whispering Hillock is part of the Ladies of the Wood questline which has Geralt go on a hunt for the Baron’s wife. During the Whsipering Hillock part of the questchain, Geraly will have a decision to make, which will come back to haunt the bloody baron in one way or another. Here’s everything you need to know about the Witcher 3’s Whispering Hillock, and the best decision to make.
| Important Items in this Area |
|---|
| Woman’s Remains |
| Diagram: Griffin Silver Sword - Enhanced |
The Whispering Hillock (Level 5) Walkthrough¶
Continue along the road until you come to another fork, stick to the south-west, which will lead you to the Whispering Hillock. When you cross the threshold of the rather large search area you’ll hear a disembodied voice, which starts the quest “The Whispering Hillock” . The worst you’ll have to face here are Wolves (level five) and a Warg (level eight). Explore south-east of the center of the search area to find the “Ancient Oak” signpost, then head west of the large tree in the center of the search area to find a Place of Power guarded by a Werewolf (level eight). Use Igni to soften the beast up, then Quen to protect yourself. That, and some fast attacks with your silver sword should be all you need. From the Place of Power turn north-east and climb a ledge to find a cave.
Defeat the Werewolf near the Ancient Oak (left) then draw from the nearby Place of Power (right).
Head inside the cave and dive into some water to the south. Swim further south to reach a small chamber dominated by a natural stone column. Search behind it to find a chest filled with valuable loot, then swim down a tunnel to the north-east and loot another chest to your left as you go for more quality loot. Surface when the tunnel to the north ends, then climb out of the water.
Travel north into a chamber, where you’ll find what’s behind the voice that gives this area its name. This accursed being seems to have a different take on the Crones, but it should be taken with a grain of salt, seeing as they were former rivals. More likely, however, is that both sides are wrong, perhaps in different degrees or just in different ways. It will also claim the children from the swamp orphanage are in danger; you can either help this trapped spirit, or you can turn it down. Go along with it for now (you can change your mind later) as there’s a few things you can do while working with the spirit, even if you don’t want to side with it in the end. If you don’t care about finding a sweet Silver Sword upgrade, though, skip to “Fighting the Ghost in the Tree” , otherwise, everybody should continue with “Freeing the Ghost in the Tree” .
The Whispering Hillock Choice¶
There are two major choices you can make during the Whispering Hillock questline. The first is to help the spirit, where the second is to fight it. Both of which largely affect how you complete the quest, but it also does play a part in how the Bloody Baron and his wife’s storyline comes to an end. Largely the same thing happens at the end of that storyline, its just how the details change. We have placed a spoiler box you can click on to spoil what happens in the following main story quest if you want to know what the Whispering Hillock choice does.
If you choose to help the Whispering Hillock creature, then you gain her as an ally when you return to the Crookback Bog quest and fight the Crones. Remember that trivia book we mentioned earlier in the guide? Well, that’s all true, and freeing the creature allows it to take revenge against the other Crones. However, this result leads to the death of the Baron’s Wife, Anna, who was cursed by the Crones and eventually died of it. At the revelation of her death, the baron commits suicide and joins her in the afterlife.
If you choose to fight the Crone, you lose an ally in the coming battle. However, Anna lives, and the Bloody baron and the wife ride off into the sunset, never to be seen again.
As mentioned, the ending is the same, it is just how the details change. Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong decision here. So do whatever you personally prefer.
Helping the Crone Walkthrough¶
If you decide to help the spirit, it’ll tell you about a ritual you must perform consisting of three components; its remains, a horse, and raven feathers. Ask about each and it’ll tell where to find them, and perhaps why (vaguely) it’s required. It’ll even open a short cut to the north, so you need not bother trekking back through the cave. You should have already obtained a Raven’s Feather back when you were searching for Johnny’s voice, so you can safely ignore that requirement for now and instead focus on the horse and the corpse.
Head north, exiting the cave, and from where you exit head west and slightly north, down some hills, and back into the swamp. When you reach the search area you’ll need to defeat a Water Hag (level eight) then use your Witcher Senses near the southern end of the search area to find a grave marking the resting spot of the spirit’s physical remains. Loot the grave for some “Woman’s Remains” .
Your next objective is a meadow to the south where a black mare dwells. What a pain in the ass… but on the plus side it’ll lead you perilously close to some pretty awesome loot. Head south from the tree, perhaps returning to the “Ancient Oak” signpost and following the trail to the south… the eastern of two trails to the south, not the western one which starts out running south-west, as it takes you perilously close to a Guarded Treasure event where an Earth Elemental (level twenty) dwells. When you reach the edge of huge search area, put all thoughts of finding that horse out of mind for now, and continue following the trail south until it merges with a larger road. Continue south a short distance until yet another road branches off to the south-west and follow it until you discover the “Crossroads” signpost. This southern signpost will allow you to quickly obtain a superior silver sword.
Take a detour to search a cave for a chest containing the Diagram: Enhanced Griffin Silver Sword (left). Use Axii to pacify-then mount-a mare (right).
If you wish to obtain it now and not mess up any quests that’s perfectly fine, just follow the road east a short distance until you see - east of the road - a ravine that parallels the road. Head into the gorge and follow it east, down some rocky ledges, then down a grassy slope, at which point you should find the “Entrance” map marker, which marks a cave to the north. Venture inside and proceed to the end of the cave, ignoring all the loot and glowing bodies save a chest, which you’ll find next to a corpse that can be neither looted nor investigated. Inside you’ll find the “Diagram: Griffin Silver Sword - Enhanced” . Hell, this was easier to get than the original diagram! If you couldn’t tell by all the things that pop up on your Witcher senses, there’s a quest here later, but there’s no need to bother with it yet.
Return to the “Crossroads” signpost if necessary, near which you should have no trouble finding black mares trotting about. They seem to like this spot for some reason. Use Axii to tame one (you don’t even have to be all that close) then mount it and ride it back north to the cave, which is north of the ancient oak. Ride the horsie into the cave and, with the three components in hand you’ll be told how to complete the ritual. You can choose to renege on the spirit by purposefully botching the ritual, or you can be less subtle and fight the spirit. In the former case, you can skip to the section “Meeting the Crones” , in the latter case, read “Fighting the Ghost in the Tree” first. If you perform the ritual the spirit - now possessing the body of the mare - will agree to free the children. In this case, skip to “Meeting the Crones” .
Fight (left) or free (right) the Ghost in the Tree. Your decision here will have ramnifications that aren’t immediately apparent.
Fighting the Ghost in the Tree Walkthrough¶
If you refuse to help free the spirit, it’ll attack you, predictably enough. This fight is simple; it summons some Endrega Workers (level six) to pester you. Smite them, then attack the roots protecting the physical manifestation of the spirit. Once they’re hacked away you’ll get to deal a few blows to the spirit, after which the roots go back into place, and it summons more Endrega Workers. Repeat until it dies. Once done, loot the tree for some Diamond Dust, then the Endrega for more mundane monster bits. The quest “The Whispering Hillock” ends, but you still need to talk to the Ealdorman of Downwarren to satisfy the Ladies. Fortunately a shortcut has opened up back west, so you need not even get your boots wet.
Meeting the Crones¶
Leave the cave where you’ll find the Ealdorman and a group of peasants, who have surprisingly decided to brave the forest. Tell them about your deeds and remind him about the payment, which the Ealdorman will go off and… well, he’ll give you his cut.
Geralt will make an offering of the Ealdorman’s reward and the Crones will show up, and, after roughly treating Gran, talk to you. You can talk about the children and the spirit in the tree, but they’re vague about both. Ask about Ciri and eventually you’ll get a cutscene detailing Ciri’s interaction with the Crones…
| Objective | Reward |
|---|---|
| For meeting the Crones | 350 XP / Hunting Boots |
After dealing with the Ghost in the Tree, you’ll meet the Crones, who are not as their painting advertised (left). As Ciri, flee from the Crones and the Wild Hunt (right).
Ciris Story: Fleeing the Bog (Level 5)¶
When you’re in control of Ciri, kill the Drowners (level six) that are initially there, then head east. Along the way you’ll be pestered by some Hounds of the Wild Hunt (level five), which you can either fend off or avoid. Reach the end of the trail and watch a cutscene, which links up with what you saw during the quest “Bloody Baron” .
Back in control of Geralt you can make the choice to either try and pick a fight with the Crones, or threaten to come back for them later with Ciri. Either way, they taunt you and wander off. This ends “Ladies of the Wood” .
| Objective | Reward |
|---|---|
| For learning of Ciri’s encounter with the Crones | 200 XP |
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