In the documented Ladies of the Wood quest order, freeing the spirit saves the orphans but destroys Downwarren and leads to Anna and the Baron's deaths. Killing it has the opposite tradeoff: the orphans are lost while Anna and the Baron survive that continuation. Neither is a save-everyone route.
Reach the spirit before choosing
Follow the Crones' task to the hillock. Enter the cave on the western side and swim through to the heart beneath the tree. Keep a save before the conversation and note whether you reached this location through the quest or independently earlier.
Free the spirit or end the threat
- Free it: collect the raven feather associated with Johnny's voice task, the bones from the grave west of the hillock, and a black mare from the southern herd. Calm the mare with Axii, mount it and return for the ritual.
- Kill it: fight the summoned endregas and attack the heart when its protective roots withdraw.
- Trick it during the ritual: the legacy walkthrough documents killing it through the later deception branch, rather than actually releasing it.
Check the branch, not only the quest label
Continue the village and bog story to see the consequences; a ritual finishing is not proof that you freed the spirit. Record which choice you used before comparing an outcome report.
This page deliberately describes the normal quest order. An early independent visit changes the context and is not verified here as a way to preserve everyone. If you want another outcome, return to the decision save and replay that branch; an end-of-quest save does not undo it. A missing ingredient should be investigated from the active objective, without using unsupported quest-state commands. For the wider Baron investigation, see Family Matters' remaining leads.
Sources and version limits
- GameBanshee: The Whispering Hillock — Historical 1.31 GOTY walkthrough; not a verified Remastered 5.x playtest.
Sources checked October 5, 2026. We have not tested this route on your save or hardware. Follow the stated platform and version limits; reported workarounds are not guaranteed repairs.