In previous episodes… I visited the Devil’s Pit, where I found an old warlock who tried to contain the evil of a Red Miasma, while on his way to Hunchback’s Bog. I have delayed the inevitable too long. It’s time to come face to face with the Ladies of the Forest.
I need some quiet time before reaching the quagmire, so I decide trot with Sardinilla while I watch the sunset and listen to the soundtrack of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I only find a pack of wolves along the way, which I quickly leave behind, spurring my horse on.
I arrive at Hunchback Quagmire. As they told me, I must follow the sweets. I arrive at a small village that has two wooden buildings: a house and what looks like a temple. I meet a group of children who refuse to tell me about Ciri and the wife and daughter of the Bloody Baron, but some sweets loosen their tongues and they tell me that maybe Johnny know something about it. An elderly and somewhat upset woman interrupts us and throws me out of the place without mediating.
Finally, I manage to locate Johnny in his lair. He is about a boy who tells stories and sings to the children, and helps the grandmother to keep the children healthy. He helped her get her voice back from him and answer for me in front of granny, who finally agrees to talk to me and offer me an audience before Las Damas del Bosque. Thanks Johnny!
The Ladies of the Forest: decisions
My audience with the Ladies of the Forest isn’t exactly good. On the one hand, I come to the irrefutable conclusion that the older woman is the wife
item: The Conjurer’s quest thread led me to find out that the Baron’s wife had a miscarriage before escaping and the baby turned into a Maelstrom. I decided to turn him into a Domestic Spirit, who guided me to a fisherman’s cabin, which in turn put me in contact with the daughter of the Bloody Baron. She doesn’t want to know anything about her father. He also tells me that her mother was carried off by a great beast during the escape. He wants to rescue her from her.
I don’t trust the three witches in the slightest, who haven’t even had the shame of physically appearing in our audience. Besides, those who enslave don’t usually give me much confidence. Call me crazy! I find the peasant and he tells me that the spirit is in the forest and that no one returns from the expeditions they send.
I find the spirit inside a big tree. Has mushroom shape that the tree coils itself in the roots and its voice is from beyond the grave. He tells me that she is a victim of witches and that they are not to be trusted. She wants break free to escape and save the children he holds captive. I have the suspicion that they eat them… so I decide to trust the spirit. He hasn’t given me reason to distrust, although he hasn’t given me reason to trust either. I decide to release him in the form of a black horse.
I return to the farmer, who cuts off his ear as part of the payment to the witches, and I return to the Hunchback Marsh. The Ladies of the Forest they are not happy, although in reality I have fulfilled the mission entrusted to me: to end the problem of the spirit. The bad news for them is that he has taken the children. This time they have presented themselves in person. Nothing like a little disappointment to encourage good manners!
Their appearance is hideous and they carry limbs in their sacks. They tell me that Ciri passed by, that they helped her… but also that they alerted the Wild Hunt to her presence and tried to eat her. For me, negotiations are over. I take out my sword and prepare to attack. The witches leave laughing and uttering curses: that I will never find Ciri. Bullshit!
Assault on the Hunchback Swamp: consequences
I return to the Bloody Baron to tell him about my adventure. It doesn’t take long for her to seize his sword and organize a assault on the Hunchback Swamp. I could go my way… but I refuse to abandon that woman to slavery. The Baron’s daughter also plans an assault. Like father, like son… I guess.
The Baron, his small army and I arrive at the quagmire, where we find that the Baron’s daughter and her Eternal Fire (witch hunter) friends are already fighting beasts envied by the three witches. We join the fight. We won. The reunion of the Baron and his daughter is not comfortable, but there are more pressing problems: freeing his wife and mother respectively.
We enter the temple-like building and go down a stepladder to a basement. The three witches have made a macabre ritual of black magic. The only way to free the soul of the Baron’s wife is to choose the right item: red trinket doll, bird feather doll, mallow doll, and human ear doll. My swords are of no use here.
The red trinket is too general, it could belong to anyone. Bird feathers have nothing to do with Anna, the wife. The human ear belongs to the farmer we saw earlier or it could belong to anyone. In conclusion, there remains royal mallow
We won the battle and I choose correctly… but The Ladies of the Forest do not have good losing. Anna is doomed to die, but having chosen the right doll allows her a few minutes to say goodbye to her daughter and for her husband to apologize for her behavior. The scene is heartbreaking. The woman dies at the hands of her daughter.
The witches win, despite having lost on all fronts. I freed a spirit tortured by his curses, which in turn freed the children from a baleful fate, we won the battle against the beasts, we drove the witches out of the quagmire, and I unraveled their macabre ritual… but their fury sentenced anna to certain death, no matter how wise my decision was during the ritual. At least she was able to say goodbye to her daughter and husband.
I have acted faithful to my criteria and ideals, and I have tried to save as many lives as possible. I have saved a spirit and a group of children, but I have paid with Anna’s life… even if she was not willing and not really under my control. The real killers are the witches. Maybe it’s the lesser evil or maybe not. I don’t want to feel guilty, but it’s inevitable. The words of Geralt de Rivia, written by Andrzej Sapkowski in The Last Wish, resonate in my mind:
Evil is evil, Stregobor – the witcher said seriously as he stood up -. Smaller, larger, medium, it is the same, the proportions are agreed and the borders are blurred. I am not a holy hermit, I have not always done well. But if I have to choose between one evil and another, I prefer not to choose at all.
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