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Background
You'll receive this quest near the end of the quest
Wandering in the Dark when you learn that Ciri had some dealing with the crones of Crookback Bog.
Walkthrough
When you receive the quest, you'll be with Keira Metz, and she'll give you the book The Ladies of the Wood so you'll have some background information about them. In particular, the book will give you a way to meet them: if you start at their shrine, then a special "trail of treats" will lead you to them.
You'll find the shrine at the northern edge of the Crookback Bog (#1). You'll recognize it because it'll be draped with maggot-infested treats. To track down the crones, you'll just need to follow the trail of treats away from the shrine. The treats will be on the ground and hanging from the trees, and they'll be plentiful. But if you have trouble spotting them, then just turn on your witcher senses. Then the treats will glow red.
The treats will lead you to a small village inhabited by orphans and their "Gran" (#2). The orphans either won't know or won't say anything about Ciri, and Gran will try to get you to leave. But an orphan named Travik will mention that his friend Johnny knows a lot of things. However, if you try to ask Travik about Johnny, then Gran will block you.
To get Gran away from Travik, you'll need to get the other orphans to help you out. They'll want you to either give them something to eat or play hide-and-seek with them. For the former, you won't actually lose any of your food. For the latter, you'll just need to turn on your witcher senses and follow the orphans' footprints to find them. Once you've done your part, the orphans will do theirs, and they'll lure Gran away.
When you talk to Travik, he'll tell you that Johnny lives in a "burrow" and that you might meet him to the east. When you go in that direction, you'll encounter a water hag and some drowners (#3). After dispatching them, you'll need to turn on your witcher senses. You'll spot Johnny's footprints, and they'll lead you to his burrow to the north.
When you call to Johnny at his burrow (#4), he'll come out, and you'll discover that he's a godling. However, he won't have his voice, so he won't be able to answer your questions very well. But eventually Johnny will ask you to follow him. This exchange will earn you 150 xp. Johnny will then lead you to a raven's nest to the north. Along the way you'll encounter some more drowners.
You'll have to do some climbing to reach theraven's nest (#5), but when you get there you'll discover a
Sealed Bottle and a
Raven's Feather. When you give the bottle to Johnny, he'll get his voice back, and he'll tell you about Ciri -- that she was wounded, and that he last saw her heading towards the orphan village. He'll then agree to go with you there so Gran will talk to you. During the trip, you'll once again encounter drowners and a water hag.
Note: You might need the
Raven's Feather for the quest
The Whispering Hillock.
At the village (#2), Johnny will convince Gran to help you, and Gran will lead you to a previously-locked building. Inside, you'll discover a tapestry depicting the crones. When Gran touches the tapestry, the crones will talk through her, and they'll offer to tell you about Ciri provided you defeat a creature near Downwarren. They'll then suggest that you to talk to the ealdorman at Downwarren to learn more about this creature, and they'll give you the
Crones' Dagger so he'll know that they sent you. This conversation will earn you another 150 xp.
In Downwarren (#6), the ealdorman will inform you that there's an "ancient power" at the Whispering Hillock, and he'll describe some of the things it can do. To learn more about the creature, you'll need to go to the hillock, but when you do a voice will order you to leave. This will trigger the quest
The Whispering Hillock.
During the quest, you'll learn that the creature at the hillock is the spirit of the druidess who used to protect the region -- before the crones moved in and murdered her. You'll then be able to help or destroy the spirit. That decision will impact some of the people you've met in Velen, including the orphans and the Bloody Baron. See the quest entry for
The Whispering Hillock for more information.
After completing the quest, you'll need to return to the ealdorman, who conveniently will be at the hillock. He'll cut off his ear as payment to the crones, and you'll automatically take it to the altar at the orphan village, where the crones will show up to accept it. This will earn you 250 xp. During the ensuing cut scene, you'll realize that Gran is really Anna, the Bloody Baron's wife (assuming you've learned about her from the quest
Family Matters). Then, regardless of how you completed the quest
The Whispering Hillock, the crones will tell you about Ciri. This will trigger a flashback quest.
Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog
During the cut scene that begins the quest, you (as Ciri) will appear in Crookback Bog, wounded and only semi-conscious. The crones will capture you, but they won't kill you because they'll know that you're wanted Imlerith of the Wild Hunt. Still, they'll ponder which parts of your body they might be able to eat, and so you'll make your escape.
When you gain control of Ciri, you'll immediately get attacked by drowners and Hounds of the Wild Hunt. You won't be able to defeat the hounds -- they'll just keep teleporting in -- so at some point you'll have to stop fighting them and flee to the east. Once you've gotten far enough away, the hounds will stop appearing and Imlerith will give up his pursuit, at least temporarily.
When the scene returns to Geralt with the crones, the crones will depart, and you won't be able to do anything about it. But you will earn 200 xp for completing the quest.
1 - Shrine
2 - Orphan Village
3 - Water Hag
4 - Burrow
5 - Raven's Nest
6 - Downwarren
