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The Witcher 3
The Whispering Hillock Walkthrough and Best Choice
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The Whispering Hillock is a Secondary Quest in Velen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Find out how to unlock and complete the quest as well as the best choices and rewards here!
| Previous Quest | Current Quest | Next Quest |
|---|---|---|
| Ladies of the Wood | The Whispering Hillock | Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog |
How to Unlock The Whispering Hillock
Approach the Ancient Oak
The Whispering Hillock quest automatically starts when you approach the Ancient Oak just south of the village of Downwarren.
The Whispering Hillock Walkthrough
| The Whispering Hillock Objectives | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Find where the voice is coming from |
| 2 | Speak to the spirit in the cave |
| 3 | Find the bones of the trapped spirit |
| 4 | Calm a wild horse using the Axii Sign |
| 5 | Bring a black horse to the cave |
Find the Source of the Voice
| Step-by-step Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
 Use Witcher Sense Use your Witcher Sense to find where the voice is coming from. Follow the path marked by your map, you might have to fight off some wolves in the area. |
| 2 |
 Fight with a Werewolf At the base of the Ancient Oak tree, there will be a werewolf guarding a cave entrance. Defeat the werewolf to get past and head into the cave. |
| 3 |
 Cave Entrance Behind the Ledge Climb up the stone ledge next to where you just fought the werewolf, you'll find an entrance going down a cave. Enter the cave to look for the voice. |
| 4 |
 Dive Into the Water Dive into the waters inside the cave. You can find two chests underwater that contain useful items, be sure to loot them. |
| 5 |
 Emerge on the Other Side Swim through underwater until you reach the open space on the other side of the cave. |
| 6 |
 Enter the Chamber A bit further ahead from where you emerged from the water, you'll find a spacious room. Here you can find the source of the voice. |
Speak to the Spirit in the Cave
Inside the cave, you'll find a spirit trapped in the oak tree. Talk to the spirit and you'll be given a choice between killing the tree spirit or freeing the spirit from its prison.
You Can Kill the Spirit by Attacking the Heart
If you choose to kill the spirit, you can attack the tree's heart anytime after the initial encounter even if you said you'll help it. This will still complete the quest without doing any of the additional steps.
Free the Spirit by Gathering Materials
If you talk to the spirit and decide to help, it will give you instructions on what is required for the ritual. Proceed to the next objective if you choose freedom.
Find the Bones of the Spirit
| Step-by-step Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
 Head West to a Marsh Head west from the Ancient Oak until you arrive at a marsh. You'll encounter a lot of Drowners and a Water Hag here. |
| 2 |
 Use Witcher Sense Make use of Witcher Sense to find the remains of the spirit. You can find its gravestone in the southern part of the marked circle area on the map. Loot the gravestone to obtain the remains. |
Calm a Wild Horse Using Axii
| Step-by-step Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
 Head South from the Marsh Head further south from the marsh to find some wild horses. Just follow the path marked on the map. |
| 2 |
 Approach Horse and Use Axii Approach a horse and use Axii once you're close enough. You'll know it worked when the horse's name changes to a blue color. |
Bring Back the Horse to the Cave
| Step-by-step Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
 Bring Horse to the Cave After successfully calming down a black horse, mount it and ride it back to the cave. You'll be able to bring the horse inside the cave thanks to the opening created by the spirit. |
| 2 |
 Start the Ritual or Trick the Spirit A cutscene will start when you get back to the spirit with the horse, you will then be given a chance to change your mind. You can either start the ritual and free the spirit, or use it to kill the spirit without any resistance. Either way, the quest will finish afterwards. |
The Whispering Hillock Missables
NPCs Affected by Your Choice
The choice you make determines who gets to live or die between all the parties involved in the main quest, Ladies of the Wood. The results of your decision can be seen during the quest, Return to Crookback Bog.
However, you may also encounter this secondary quest first before you reach that part of the main storyline. In which case, you'll have no context on what the stakes are.
Ladies of the Wood Walkthrough
The Whispering Hillock Choices
Kill the Tree Spirit
Killing the tree spirit will result in the orphans at Crookback Bog being eaten by the Crones which leads to Anna losing her mind from the loss. The Bloody Baron will then take her far away to look for help.
Free the Tree Spirit
Freeing the tree spirit prevents the orphans from being eaten but results in the destruction of Downwarren, Anna dying from a curse, and the Baron committing suicide from the loss of his wife.
Best Choice
Your choice will only determine who gets to live and who dies for some minor characters, the rewards you get will all be the same. Feel free to choose whichever you think is right. Both of the choices have necessary evils associated so you'll have to weigh the outcomes yourself.
From a gameplay perspective, killing the tree spirit allows you to avoid extra objectives in the Return to Crookback Bog secondary quest, allowing you to complete it faster.
Should I Kill the Tree Spirit?
The Whispering Hillock Rewards
| Gold Reward | None |
|---|---|
| Exp Reward | None |
| Item Reward | None |
The Whispering Hillock Quest Info
| Quest Number | - |
|---|---|
| Region | Velen |
| Quest Location | Ancient Oak |
| Previous Quest | Ladies of the Wood |
| Next Quest | Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog |
| Missable? | No |
| Failable? | No |
The Witcher 3 Related Guides
All Secondary Quests
Base Game Secondary Quests
| At the Mercy of Strangers (N/A) | A Mysterious Passenger | Gwent Quest: Collect ‘em All! (N/A) |
| Gwent Quest: Old Pals (N/A) | Never Trust Children (N/A) | A Frying Pan, Spick and Span (N/A) |
| Missing in Action (N/A) | Precious Cargo (N/A) | Twisted Firestarter (N/A) |
| Caravan Attack (N/A) | Deadly Crossing (N/A) | Face Me if You Dare! (N/A) |
| Fake Papers (N/A) | Gwent Quest: Velen Players (N/A) | Harassing a Troll (N/A) |
| Highway Robbery (N/A) | Highwayman's Cache (N/A) | Looters (N/A) |
| Man's Best Friend (N/A) | Races: Crow's Perch (N/A) | The Truth is in the Stars (N/A) |
| A Warm Welcome (N/A) | Drunken Rabble (N/A) | Empty Coop (N/A) |
| Gwent Quest: Big City Players (N/A) | Gwent Quest: Playing Innkeeps (N/A) | Gwent Quest: Playing Thaler (N/A) |
| Call of the Wild (N/A) | Karmic Justice (N/A) | The Four Faces of Hemdall (N/A) |
| The Heroes' Pursuits: For the Goddess' Glory (N/A) | The Heroes' Pursuits: Kaer Trolde (N/A) | Message from an Old Friend (N/A) |
| Woe is Me (N/A) | Worthy of Trust (N/A) | Novigrad, Closed City (II) (N/A) |
| Trail of Echoes (N/A) | Race: The Great Erasmus Vegelbud Memorial Derby (N/A) | Racists of Novigrad (N/A) |
| Strangers in the Night (N/A) | Strumpet in Distress (N/A) | Suspicious Shakedown (N/A) |
| The Flame of Hatred (N/A) | The Most Truest of Basilisks (N/A) | The Price of Passage (N/A) |
| Yustianna Disturbed | The Heroes' Pursuits: Fyresdal | The Heroes' Pursuits: Fayrlund |
| Siren's Call | Farting Trolls | Brave Fools Die Young |
| Witch Hunter Raids (N/A) | Gwent Quest: Skellige Style (N/A) | On Death's Bed (2) |
| The Dwarven Document Dilemma (2) | Funeral Pyres (3) | Hazardous Goods (4) |
| The Whispering Hillock (5) | A Dog's Life (5) | Ciri's Room (5) |
| A Favor for a Friend (6) | A Towerful of Mice (6) | An Invitation from Keira Metz (6) |
| Fools' Gold (6) | Ghosts of the Past (6) | Magic Lamp (6) |
| The Fall of the House of Reardon (6) | Hey, You Wanna Look at my Stuff? (6) | A Greedy God (7) |
| Forefathers' Eve (7) | Lynch Mob (7) | Thou Shalt Not Pass (7) |
| Wild at Heart (7) | Haunted House (7) | For the Advancement of Learning (8) |
| Hidden Messages of the Nilfgaardian Kind (8) | Novigrad Hospitality (8) | Bitter Harvest (9) |
| Last Rites (9) | Return to Crookback Bog (9) | Honor Among Thieves (9) |
| Of Dairy and Darkness (9) | The Gangs of Novigrad (9) | Death By Fire (10) |
| Defender of the Faith (10) | Love's Cruel Snares (10) | Witcher Wannabe (10) |
| Rough Neighborhood (10) | Following the Thread (11) | Fists of Fury: Velen (11) |
| A Barnful of Trouble (11) | Novigrad, Closed City (11) | Fists of Fury: Champion of Champions (11 ) |
| Blood Ties (12) | A Dangerous Game (12) | A Matter of Life and Death (12) |
| A Walk on the Waterfront (12) | An Eye for an Eye (12) | Fencing Lessons (12) |
| Redania's Most Wanted (12) | Spooked Mare (12) | Flesh for Sale (12 ) |
| Black Pearl (13) | A Tome Entombed (13) | From a Land Far, Far Away (13) |
| The Volunteer (13) | Warehouse of Woe (13 ) | Free Spirit (13) |
| A Deadly Plot (14) | Cabaret (14) | Master of the Arena (14) |
| Stranger in a Strange Land (14) | The Cave of Dreams (14) | Now or Never (14) |
| Out On Your Arse! (14) | The Nobleman Statuette (14) | The Soldier Statuette (14) |
| The Price of Honor (14 ) | The Nithing (14) | A Bard's Beloved (15) |
| Armed Assault (15) | For Fame and Glory (15) | Little Red (15) |
| The Family Blade (15 ) | In Wolf's Clothing (15 ) | An Unpaid Debt (15 ) |
| The Last Wish (15) | Carnal Sins (16) | The Path of Warriors (16) |
| The Lord of Undvik (17) | Possession (17) | Crime and Punishment (18) |
| King's Gambit (18) | Coronation (18) | Iron Maiden (19) |
| A Feast for Crows (20) | Hard Times (21) | Brothers In Arms: Velen (22) |
| Brothers In Arms: Novigrad (22) | Brothers In Arms: Skellige (22) | Brothers In Arms: Nilfgaard (22) |
| Fists of Fury: Novigrad (23) | The Bastion (23 ) | Abandoned Sawmill (24) |
| Finders Keepers (24) | Shock Therapy (24) | Of Swords and Dumplings (24) |
| Master Armorers (24) | Practicum in Advanced Alchemy (24 ) | Take What You Want (25) |
| Where the Cat and Wolf Play... (25) | Peace Disturbed (25) | Taken as a Lass (25 ) |
| A Final Kindness (26) | High Stakes (26) | The Sad Tale of the Grossbart Brothers (26) |
| Monster Slayer (26) | Greenhouse Effect (27) | Berengar's Blade (27 ) |
| It Takes Three to Tango (28) | Faithful Friend (30) | Fists of Fury: Skellige (30) |
| Reason of State (30) | The Tower Outta Nowheres (30 ) | The Witcher's Forge (30 ) |
Blood and Wine Secondary Quests
| Fists of Fury: Toussaint | Mutual of Beauclair's Wild Kingdom | The Words of the Prophets are Written on Sarcophagi |
| Till Death Do You Part | Using Your Loaf | Vintner's Contract: Chuchote Cave |
| Vintner's Contract: Duchaton Crest | Of Sheers and a Witcher I Sing | Big Feet to Fill: The Third Group |
| Big Feet to Fill | Gwent Quest: Never Fear, Skellige’s Here! (N/A) | No Place Like Home (Blood and Wine) (N/A) |
| Big Feet to Fill: The Second Group (N/A) | Big Feet to Fill: The First Group (N/A) | Amidst the Mill's Grist (N/A) |
| A Knight’s Tales | Raging Wolf | Knight for Hire |
| Extreme Cosplay | Big Feet to Fill: The Fourth Group | The Perks of Being a Jailbird |
| Big Feet to Fill: The Fifth Group | The Warble of a Smitten Knight (35) | Turn and Face the Strange (35) |
| Paperchase (36) | Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Granite! (36) | Wine Wars: Vermentino (37) |
| Wine Wars: Coronata (37) | Father Knows Worst (37) | Wine Wars: Belgaard (37 and 39) |
| Vintner's Contract: Rivecalme Storehouse (37) | Gwent Quest: To Everything - Turn, Turn, Tournament! (38) | Vintner's Contract: Dun Tynne Hillside (40) |
| Wine Wars: Consorting (40) | Master Master Master Master! (40) | Wine Wars: The Deus in the Machina (42) |
| The Hunger Game (42) | Vintner's Contract: Cleaning Those Hard-to-Reach Places (43) | There Can Be Only One (43) |
| A Portrait of the Witcher as an Old Man (43) | Duck, Duck, Goosed! (47) |
Hearts of Stone Secondary Quests
| Enchanting: Quality Has Its Price (32) | Enchanting: Start-up Costs (32) | Races: Swift as the Western Winds (32) |
| The Taxman Cometh (32) | Without a Trace (32) | A Midnight Clear (33) |
| Rose on a Red Field (33) | Avid Collector (34) |
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The Whispering Hillock Walkthrough and Best Choice
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