Ciri’s conflict with some mysterious witch in Velen is one of the first leads you’ll get, courtesy of ill-fated Hendrik. After chasing a bogus lead in Midcopse, Geralt ended up learning about some “Ladies of the Wood”, which led him down the Trail of Treats to an orphanage in the swamps of eastern Velen. After earning the trust of Gran via the agency of a Godling and dealing with a rampaging spirit under the Whispering Hillock, Geralt finally got the honor of meeting the Crones of Crookbag Bog, who shamelessly told the Witcher of their meeting with Ciri. This page will provide a walkthrough for the secondary quest Ciri’s Story: Fleeing the Bog in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Quest Objectives¶
Starting Ciri’s Story: Fleeing the Bog¶
As with most “Ciri’s Story” quests, Geralt will trigger this one while advancing the main quesltine. In this case, the Crones of Crookback Bog will relate the tale to Geralt at the end of Ladies of the Wood, which requires you to have also completed The Whispering Hillock. In fact, Ladies of the Wood will end when this Ciri’s Tale quest is concluded.
Escape from Crookback Bog¶
This quest begins mid-conversation, transitioning from the Crones talking to Geralt to them narrating their meeting with Ciri. Despite what the Crones just said about Ciri’s radical shift in attitude, their own tale paints a shamelessly different picture. In reality the Crones’ own sinister appetites and association with the Wild Hunt drew Ciri to flee.
After absconding through the window and escaping into the swamp you’ll find yourself in control of Ciri with only one overriding objective - Escape from Crookback Bog. In practice this means you need to flee east, towards a friendly objective marker, but your flight will be hindered by the presence of Drowners (Lv6) and Hounds of the Wild Hunt (Lv5). The necrophages are finite and once the initial ones are slain, no more will appear. The Hounds of the Wild Hunt, however, are another matter entirely, as these critters will continuously respawn for the duration of the quest, appearing out of portals like the ones Geralt fought earlier alongside Keira Metz during Wandering in the Dark. Fortunately Hounds of the Wild Hunt aren’t very strong, just be wary of one new attack - they’ll conjure ice spikes around themselves. These aren’t very damaging and there seems to be a delay between when they appear and when they deal damage, so as long as you dodge when you see them pop up you should be fine.
That said, there’s no good reason to fight anything in the first place. Enemies are infinite, Ciri’s not going to level up or gain loot, and most importantly, Ciri is in no way compelled to actually kill anything. Her nigh instantaneous dodge is fast and spammable enough that she’s very unlikely to get hit while using it, and if you want to quickly end this profitless endeavor and make good your escape, just mash dodge repeatedly and make your way east. Just watch out for the mist that encloses the route you’re meant to take - Ciri will take damage if she remains inside of it for too long.
Escape this scripted event and Ciri will give the Wild Hunt the slip, showing that, despite their magic, they’re far from omniscient. In fact, between Hendrik’s journal and Ciri’s mundane hiding, they’re downright unobservant at times This “Ciri’s Story” quest will end, clearly showing the transition from Ciri’s escape from Crookback Bog to the events revealed during Ciri’s Story: The King of the Wolves. Once it ends you’ll get to make some meaningless dialog choices as Geralt, to which the Crones react with mockery and fatalism before leaving. The quest Family Matters will become active again and you’ll be encouraged to report your findings to the Bloody Baron back in Crow’s Perch, which ultimately transitions into yet another Ciri’s Story quest: Ciri’s Story: Out of the Darkness.
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