Crones

Crones

Species	Relicts
DLC	Base game
Oil	Relict Oil
Signs	Quen
Location	Velen

The Crones are three ancient witches and Relicts who rule the swamps of Crookback Bog in Velen. Their names are Weavess, Brewess and Whispess. The peasants call them the Ladies of the Wood. They are first met early in the story, in the main quest Ladies of the Wood, and fought much later in Bald Mountain.

Lore

The far corners of the world hold creatures older than humans, older than mages, older even than elves and dwarves. The Crones of Crookback Bog are such creatures. No one knows their true names or what kind of monster they really are. Johnny the godling warns that they are as old as the forest, cruel and vindictive, and never to be crossed.

The common folk named the three sisters Weavess, Brewess and Whispess. They call the three "The Ladies of the Wood" or simply "The Good Ladies." The Crones are the true rulers of Velen. They help its people survive hard times, and in return they demand total obedience. Their magic is powerful, but it is not the magic of mages. They draw their power from water and earth and are bound to the land where they live.

The Crones hear everything that happens in their woods. They can see the future, twist the threads of people's lives, and bring blessings as well as curses. For all practical purposes, they seem to be immortal. Magic elixirs keep them from aging and let them take the shape of young women. These elixirs and their ties to the swamps also give them great strength and vitality.

Their help always comes at a heavy price. The spirit trapped beneath the Whispering Hillock blames the Crones for its prison in the roots of a great oak.

Behaviour

The Crones live deep in Crookback Bog. A small hamlet of orphans stands nearby, cared for by a strange old woman called Gran. A trail of treats leads through the woods to the hamlet. Gran guards the house where the sisters receive visitors, and only she can let a stranger speak to them.

Their reach goes far beyond the bog. When Ciri landed in Crookback Bog, exhausted and looking for shelter, she fell into their hands. The sisters planned to eat her or hand her to the Wild Hunt. They summoned Imlerith, a general of the Hunt, to take her to his king. Ciri overheard them, slipped out of the hut and fled through the marshes.

The Crones also hold a sabbath on Bald Mountain. Peasants gather there for the feast, and Imlerith attends as their guest.

Weaknesses

Coat the silver sword with Relict Oil. Quen is the most useful Sign against them. In Bald Mountain, though, the fight is played as Ciri, alone against all three sisters. It is a tough fight, and their blows hit very hard. Her Blink ability is the key to surviving it.

Focus on one Crone at a time and take down Brewess first. She is the large one and moves slowly, so she is the easiest to hit again and again. Keep moving, because Weavess and Whispess attack throughout. Ciri's charge attack also works well on Brewess.

Weavess and Whispess are harder to pin down. They slip out of solid form and fly across the battlefield as crows. Use Blink and the charge attack to close the gap each time. At one point the three join in a spell, and Blink must strike all three sisters to break it.

Crones Map Location and Quest Guide

Find the shrine that marks the start of the trail of treats.
Follow the trail with Witcher Senses to the orphans' hamlet and talk to the children.
Play hide and seek with the children so they lure Gran away, then talk to the boy in the hut.
Find Johnny's burrow in the bog and lure him out.
Search the harpy nest on the cliff for the sealed bottle and give it to Johnny.
Follow Johnny back to the hamlet and speak to the Ladies of the Wood.
Talk to the ealdorman of Downwarren and solve his problem at the Whispering Hillock.
Put the ealdorman's payment on the stone to hear what the Crones know of Ciri.

Map credit by Map Genie.

Contracts and Quests

Quest	Quest Giver	Location	Reward
Ladies of the Wood	-	Crookback Bog, Velen	750 XP
Bald Mountain	-	Bald Mountain, Velen	-

The Crones are met in Ladies of the Wood, a main quest in Velen that follows Wandering in the Dark. Notes left by the Nilfgaardian agent Hendrik say Ciri clashed with a witch in Velen. Keira Metz points the search toward the Crones of Crookback Bog.

A shrine marks the start of a trail of treats that leads to the orphans' hamlet. The children sing a strange song, and one of them mentions a boy named Johnny who saw Ciri. Gran sends the witcher away. After a game of hide and seek, the children distract Gran, and the boy inside reveals where Johnny lives. Johnny is a godling who has lost his voice. It is trapped in a sealed bottle, hidden in a nest on a cliff where harpies circle. With his voice back, Johnny leads the way to the hamlet and talks Gran into letting the witcher see the Ladies.

The Crones demand a favor before they say anything about Ciri. The ealdorman of Downwarren has a problem: a rash of murders tied to the Whispering Hillock. That task becomes The Whispering Hillock. Once it is solved, the ealdorman pays with his ear, and the ear is placed on the stone for the Crones. They then tell what they know of Ciri, and Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog plays out.

In Bald Mountain, Ciri faces the Crones at their sabbath and kills Brewess and Whispess. Weavess escapes and takes Vesemir's medallion with her.

Drops

Name	Image
Black Magic Doll
Calcium Equum
Crystalized Essence
Grave Hag's Ear
Infused Dust
Infused Shard
Powdered Pearl
Wolfsbane
Lesser Glyphs	-
Lesser Runestones	-
Glyphs
Runestones	-

All Monster Categories

All Relicts

Name	Image	Variant of	Oil	Signs	Bombs	Location	DLC
Chort		-	Relict Oil	-	Devil's Puffball	Velen Skellige Kaer Morhen White Orchard	Base game
Crones		-	Relict Oil	Quen	-	Velen	Base game
Doppler		-	Relict Oil	-	-	Novigrad Skellige	Base game
Fiend		-	Relict Oil	-	Samum Devil's Puffball	Velen Skellige	Base game
Fugas		-	-	-	-	-	Base game
Godling		-	-	-	-	Velen Novigrad	Base game
Grottore	-	Spriggan	Relict Oil	Igni	Dimeritium Bomb	Toussaint	Blood and Wine
Howler		Chort	Relict Oil	-	Devil's Puffball	-	Base game
Imp		Doppler	Relict Oil	-	-	Novigrad	Base game
Kernun		Leshen	Relict Oil	Igni	Dimeritium Bomb	-	Base game
Leshen		-	Relict Oil	Igni	Dimeritium Bomb	Velen Skellige Kaer Morhen Novigrad	Base game
Morvudd		Fiend	Relict Oil	-	Devil's Puffball Samum	Skellige	Base game
Shaelmaar		-	Relict Oil	Aard	Samum Dragon's Dream	Toussaint	Blood and Wine
Shaelmaar from the Emperor of Nilfgaard		Shaelmaar	Relict Oil	Aard	Samum	Toussaint	Blood and Wine
Spriggan		-	Relict Oil	Igni	Dimeritium Bomb	Toussaint	Blood and Wine
Sylvan		-	Relict Oil	Igni	Samum Devil's Puffball	Velen	Base game
The Caretaker		-	Relict Oil	Quen	-	-	Hearts of Stone
The Monster of Tufo	-	Shaelmaar	Relict Oil	Aard	Samum	Toussaint	Blood and Wine
Wicked Witch		-	-	-	-	Land of a Thousand Fables	Blood and Wine
Woodland Spirit		Leshen	Relict Oil	Igni	Dimeritium Bomb	-	Base game