Return to Crookback Bog | The Witcher 3 Wiki

Return to Crookback Bog is a Secondary Quest in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. Secondary Quests are optional Quests not required to finish the game. Some of these quests may have a bearing on certain Main Quests or may be a consequence of another Quest.

Return to Crookback Bog can be obtained by agreeing to help the Bloody Baron recover his wife from the Crones during Family Matters. The outcome of this quest is heavily influenced by your choices during The Whispering Hillock. 

As you recall, the self-proclaimed baron of Velen had asked Geralt to find his missing family. And so, ever a man of his word, find them he did. Tamara, the baron's duaghter, he found in Oxenfurt, where she had joined the witch hunters. As for Anna, the baron's wife, she had been kidnapped by the Crones and made their slave, in fulfillment of a bargain she had struck with them earlier. Hearing this, the baron swore to free Anna, with or without the witcher's help, and set off to the place in the bog where Geralt had seen his wife.

The Witcher 3 Return to Crookback Bog Objectives

• Meet the baron in Downwarren.
• Go with the baron to the Crones' huts in the bog.
• Help the witch hunters fight the monsters.
• Prepare for a fight.
• Kill the fiend and the other monsters.

Rewards for Return to Crookback Bog in The Witcher 3

• 300 Exp
• 100 Crowns

Walkthrough for The Witcher 3 Return to Crookback Bog

The events of this quest are directly tied to the actions that you took in The Whispering Hillock quest. Depending on whether you let the spirit of the woods live or die you will get different dialogue and the results at the end of the quest will be vastly different.

The main walkthrough remains the same, see below for the differences depending on your actions

Once you've met the Baron and his men at Downwarren, you'll start the march to the crones' lair. On the way, you'll encounter two groups of drowners, each with a Water Hag in tow. Kill the water hags first as they'll make life difficult when you've got drowners attacking you. Igni works very well on them. The Baron's men are largely useless here so just let them distract the creatures and get some easy kills.

When you reach the crones' lair you'll have another quick fight on your hands as you'll meet up with Tamara and the soldiers from The Eternal Flame. Kill the remaining drowners and then you will be able to start your search for Anna. When the door is opened to the main house you'll find Anna has been transformed into a hideous, water-hag-like creature. A cutscene will play out where the crones send creatures to attack you. The drowners you know how to fight, but the Fiend is something new entirely.

Fighting the Fiend is much like fighting a bear crossed with a werewolf. He can gore you if you stay in front of him, so stick to his sides or behind him. Igni will do persistent damage to him so make use of it liberally. He is also able to heal himself like the werewolves can, so you need to keep your damage per second high. Keep hitting him and casting Igni and he'll go down.

If you let The Spirit Of The Woods live
After the Fiend is down, another cutscene will play where it's determined that Anna has been cursed, since the Crones blame Anna when the spirit saves the children, you will need to find the source of the curse to try and lift it. You'll need to pay a visit to Johnny again to see if he saw anything. When you reach his burrow it'll be surrounded by drowners and water hags, so kill them and interact with the burrow. He's not there, so use your witcher sense to track him down. He'll be hiding close by. He'll explain what happened to Gran/Anna and mention that there's a trap door in the crones' house. Yomp back to the house and use your witcher sense to find the trap door (also, take the opportunity to mercilessly loot the place as there are some good items around).

In the cellar, you'll be treated to a grim sight, the dolls representing the people that the crones have cursed on a bloody altar. You need to pick the one which represents Anna (the one with the flower). When you've got the right one, the last cutscene will kick off. The curse will be lifted, but Anna will be dying as the crones have tricked them. Watch the touching moment when father and daughter are reunited as Anna dies. The Baron, despondent, will tell you to collect your reward from Crow's Perch. Visit there and the ending will be determined by your actions in the earlier quest. 

When you approach Downwarren, the Baron will be talking with the peasant who sent you off to find The Spirit Of The Woods in the first place. He will be frightened and explain that a black mare tore through the village, destroying and killing all who stood in his way. Geralt will explain that the Spirit is wreaking vengeance over those who sought to kill him. Then the quest kicks off properly. 

Anna's transformation into the monster is blamed on the crones punishing her for letting the children escape with the Spirit.

When you return to Crow's Perch to get your reward, you'll find the Baron hanging from the tree in the courtyard. His second in command will tell you that he was drunk and having lost his wife and his daughter, all he cared about in the world, he lost the will to live and took his own life. A quick cutscene will explain the duality in the decision and that you can only make your decision and not look back.

If you killed the spirit

Anna isn't transformed into the monster, instead, she gets struck permanently, either as a final revenge from the Crones, or perhaps from losing the children who the Crones eat, since the spirit did not save them.

Third Possibility

If you seek out the spirit before being prompted to as a quest for the crones, and free it, it still saves the children, but the crones do not blame Anna as long as you don't mention it. The problem with this solution is of course that it requires foreknowledge of the quest, so hopefully, you save often.

The Witcher 3 Return to Crookback Bog Notes & Trivia

• Notes, Tips, and Other Trivia for Return to Crookback Bog.