Hello!

I have tried everything. I googled it and apparently you can save both the orphans and Anna from their fates (at the cost of the villagers that tried to kill the Spirit in the tree). I have restarted my game four times trying different methods to get this done, but nothing seems to trigger the children being saved. I go to Novigrad's orphanage but none of them are there, nor the letter detailing their arrival.

This is what I tried:

Method 1: Upon arriving at Velen, I immediately go to the Whispering Willock to free the Spirit.

Method 2: Finish some of the Baron's quests before arriving at Crookback Bog, then free Spirit.

Method 3: Wait until you need to help Johnny retrieve his voice (after speaking with the children, then free the Spirit.

Method 4 (one I just tried): After getting the bottle from the nest and while Johnny is waiting, I freed the Spirit.

Unless I wait until the Crones give me the mission, the Spirit makes no mention of helping me save the children. So...how do I do this exactly? I would really hate to do this all over again only to realize it still isn't right.

Sources of where I read this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/3ga5vd/spoilers_crookback_bog_orphans_novigrad_location/?

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/4jaw2q/spoiler_how_can_i_save_the_kids_and_anna/?

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/3b05ux/the_orphans_from_the_bloody_baron_quest/?

Thanks for any help! :)

You're doing it all wrong. To get the happy ending, you KILL the spirit, NOT free it, and do it BEFORE you ever meet the crones. Because the spirit was killed before the crones gave Anna the task, she is spared the possession. The village is not decimated by the spirit horse, and the children are freed when you invade Crookback Bog to rescue Anna, who is then (with the right tact from Geralt) taken to be cured by the baron.

Thanks for the reply and wait, what? Really?! Well, I don't mind the town getting decimated. They aren't exactly kind people. Is killing the spirit the only way to get the happy ending?

Yes. Letting the spirit go free is unleashing an evil murderous demon into the world; the local village is not the only place to suffer.

Does the spirit actually harm anyone else in the game? As far as I'm aware of, only the Crones and the villagers call it evil. Unless you consider the druidess going mad as evil, but I'd welcome that over the Crones and those who wish to align with them (and willingly sacrifice children).

Read the in-game book 'She Who Knows'. The spirit is the mother of the crones, and she's an evil, mad, vengeful entity who was killed by her (evil) daughters because of this. Her blood nourished the tree and her 'soul' became trapped in it. She's mad and she's vengeful. How much more evil do you want?

I have not read that book yet, actually (though I just did). It seems like in trying to stop their mother's madness, they ended up repeating it. They're both the very same evil. Stupid Crones. lol

Well, I guess if its possible to save the children and Anna, killing it won't be so hard (though I wish I could truly end the Crones the same way). As for getting the happy ending itself....should I kill the spirit before any of the Baron quests (as soon as I'm in Velen), or can I do it while helping Johnny find his voice? I'd rather not have to restart again due to a misunderstanding on my part. There's only so much Keira Metz I can take before my head explodes.

The key is to kill the spirit before the first meeting with the crones, where you talk to the tapestry. The crones task Anna with overseeing the Downwarren quest, and if you've reached that stage and then kill the spirit, the children will not escape. If you get to that stage and free the spirit, Anna will be possessed and cannot survive. If you help Johnny find his voice, you may get sucked in. My advice is to do it before ever visiting Crookback Bog. I have the same reaction with Triss Merrigold, or should I say her voice actress.

Then I will kill it before ever stepping foot in that stupid bog. I hope this is the last time I need to do this (yes, I am persistent in this outcome). If I can get it to work, I'll come back and edit my post to let potential readers know the solution worked for me in the end. :)

And oh, I feel the same for Triss' actress too. There is something irritating about her voice, but thankfully I didn't have any missions relevant to her in order to get this Baron quest done. I'm sure if I had I would be left with thoughts of murder. lol