Tree Spirit Savior: Preparation for the Ritual — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Complete Edition eGuide

Locations: Ancient Oak, Crossroads

Characters: The Tree Spirit

Enemies: Bilge Hag, Drowners, Endreaga

Objective:

Find where the voice is coming from using your Witcher Senses.

The main path through this cave is blocked by roots, which are immune to Igni, so dive under water, swimming counter-clockwise to the continuation of the cave. The voice you’ve been hearing now reveals itself as a cursed tree spirit; a mass of pulsating globules and spines, a grotesque and bound creature.

It begs you to free it. You can:

Trust the beast, and choose to help and free the tree spirit.

Ignore the beast’s pleas and choose to slay this abomination.

Tree Spirit Savior or Slayer?

Think your actions over, as they have a major effect on the village of Downwarren, as well as Main Quest: Return to Crookbag Bog (which includes the fate of the Baron and his family). Also note you can deal with the tree spirit before beginning Main Quest: The Ladies of the Wood. If you wish to attempt this, meet the ealdorman of Downwarren once The Whispering Hillock is complete, and inform him that his problem is solved. He removes his ear as a gift for the Ladies. In this option, the spirit can only be freed from the tree, it won’t help the orphans (as you don’t know about them yet), and the Baron’s wife (Anna) is turned into a monster (encountered during Secondary Quest: Return to Crookback Bog). As you cannot choose an outcome, this isn’t the optimal path to take.

Agree to help the tree spirit. In return, the tree spirit assures you it will free the orphans, but for that to happen, a rite must be performed. Raven feathers, white bones, and a swift steed all are needed in preparation for this ritual, and you’ve agreed to find them all.

Objective:

Find the bones of the spirit trapped beneath the Whispering Hillock using your Witcher Senses.

Depart the Ancient Oak via the passage to the north (which is your preferred entry point from this moment onwards). Head roughly westward, down the hill and into the swamp. You may be waylaid by a bilge hag and other drowner fiends. Remove these threats, before searching the objective area for a lone grave marker (shown) and loot these bones, not of human born.

ITEM: Quest Item: Woman’s remains

Objective:

Obtain a raven’s feather.

Obtaining a raven feather is extremely straightforward; you should have already gathered one from the harpy’s nest during the previous quest (The Ladies of the Woods) when you were searching for the Sealed Bottle that gave Johnny his voice back. If you didn’t grab the feather as well, trek roughly northwest from the Ancient Oak, climb up the cliffs to the nest (dealing with any returning airborne foes), and gather the feather.

ITEM: Quest Item: Raven’s Feather

Objectives:

Calm a wild horse using the Axii Sign and mount it.
Bring a black horse to the cave beneath the Whispering Hillock.
Nearest Signpost: Crossroads.

Journey roughly south and a little eastward, heading for the Crossroads signpost, and a hilly area of lush grasslands where the wild horses roam. Dismount if you’re on Roach, and carefully approach any of the jet black horses. Slow down to a creep, as these horses are skittish. Then, use your Axii Sign to tame one of these mares. Ride it back to the Ancient Oak, and continue into the entrance along the north side, by the small shrine and gnarled lesser oak tree.

Once inside the cave, the roots previously blocking your way part, allowing you to ride up to the tree spirit. Agree to start the ritual, and complete it using the dagger and ingredients you provided. The wild horse, now containing the spirit, vows to free the orphans of the bog. Meanwhile, you can inform the Downwarren villagers of your actions. This quest now completes, and The Ladies of the Woods continues. Note that instead of completing the ritual, you can choose to kill the heart, or even betray the heart, by not feeding the horse with blood. In this case the heart will die, without combat.