The Witcher 3: Ladies of the Wood

The Witcher 3 enters murky territory in Ladies of the Wood.

Following Wandering in the Dark, follow the path out of the cave and use the Eye to dispel the illusion masking the exit. Have a last chat with Keira, unlocking the secondary quest An Invitation from Keira Metz if you also completed Magic Lamp.

You are miles from any fast travel points (unless you’ve been going off-schedule) and so is your target, so now is as good a time as any to start learning to use boats. Open the world map to plot a route to your goal (zoom out, and use L3 to find you and your goal), setting custom waypoints to help you navigate.

On the way you can stop by an island with a hidden treasure; watch out for the Drowner ambush! Once you collect the loot you’ll trigger the treasure hunt Sunken Chest, which you may as well do; it’s right here. Ping the Drowners with your magical underwater crossbow for best results.

When you finally reach the waypoint, examine the shrine. You must then follow the path – it’s not very difficult, hey – until you reach a little hamlet. There you can chat with some kids and their granny for a bit. I don’t know if it’s possible to get the info you need out of them then and there, or if they always get upset with Geralt, but you’ll eventually figure out there’s one lad in particular you need to talk to. Enter the hut and try to speak with him only to have Gran throw you out.

Go outside and talk to the kids. Agree to play hide and seek with them. When the countdown finishes, engage Witcher Senses and follow the footsteps to find the first child in a hut. Wander around until you find another set of prints and repeat. One is behind some ferns, and one is in a pile of branches behind a hut (you can climb on the roof and go over, or just walk around). The last one is behind the hut with Gran in it; you can see the trail going back in through the side door, out the window, and then away around to the opposite end of the building.

Since you won the game, the kids lure Gran away, after which you can chat with the kid. He’ll give you the info you need, and you can continue on – although it’s worthwhile pausing to listen to Gran’s parenting.

You’ll likely encounter some Drowners and a Water Hag. Once they’re down, find Johnny’s footprints and follow them. You’ll have to fight off another pack of Drowners on the way, but there’ll be no other incidents on the way to Johnny’s burrow.

When you’ve learned a bit about Johnny, follow him, fighting off one Drowner ambush on the way. Go around in the HorsePS indicated direction to climb up the ridge. Here you’ll battle some Harpies; wait till they get close then ping ‘em with your crossbow, quickly moving in to attack while they’re grounded. Loot their nest once they’re dead, then return to Johnny.

I liked him quite a lot more when he was mute, personally. When you’ve had a jaw, follow him back to the village, dealing with any Drowners and Water Hags that intercept you.

Back at the village you’ll have several slabs of dialogue before being dispatched on another errand. Doesn’t anyone in Velen just want to tell Geralt what he wants to know? Loot the hut thoroughly before you leave; there’s a trapdoor leading to a basement, too.

Head north through the swamp following your HorsePS, optionally cleaning out some bandits on the way (they don’t have much to make it worth your while). Speak to the Eolderman in Downwarren and show him the dagger to get the details of your mission. Better visit the merchant while you’re here.

When you approach the new waypoint, it starts to rain and shit gets a bit weird. Look around for a bit until the quest updates suggesting you find a passage under the hill; it’s to the west, so trot down there to battle a werewolf near the entrance. Draw from the nearby Place of Power before heading in by climbing a couple of ledges nearby.

Inside the cave, you have to dive through an underwater cave to reach the centre of the hill. Chat with the thing inside to learn the truth (possibly) of why this strange being is causing trouble.

You must choose what to do with the creature. Because this is The Witcher, there’s no guaranteed “good” route. We’ll proceed as if you elected to free the creature in the secondary quest The Whispering Hillock. Note that you can accept this quest and proceed while still ultimately electing to kill the creature; let's proceed as if that were the case, and discuss killing the creature momentarily.

Onwards to The Whispering Hillock, or back to The Witcher 3: Act One - Velen.

Back to The Witcher 3 guide and walkthrough.

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