Return to Crookback Bog

Return to Crookback Bog is a secondary quest in which occurs right after Geralt of Rivia agrees to help the Bloody Baron reclaim his wife, Anna.
 this quest will fail if not completed before starting The Isle of Mists.
== Walkthrough ==
Head to Downwarren where, depending on your choice during The Whispering Hillock, the village will either be ravaged and destroyed or no different from when it was last seen. In either case, the Ealdorman will be alive and will tell Geralt and Phillip about a group of witch hunters being led by a lass that recently passed through and went down into the swamps. When you say you're ready, Phillip will call his men and start heading towards the orphanage. don't stray far away from him or else the quest will fail. However, the game is very lenient here and generally you can stray over 150m away before it fails.
Phillip will talk as you make your way through the swamp, before being attacked by some drowners. While his men don't really need to survive, they do fall easily and are useful distractions later, so if you wish, you can run a bit ahead to take them out beforehand. Note though that if you're too far ahead, Phillip and his men will auto-spawn near the drowners and try to kill them. After they're dead, Phillip will talk some more as you continue and shortly another group of enemies, this time with a drowner, two rotfiends, and a water hag, will spawn. Kill this group off, then run to the orphanage to find the witch hunters fighting off more drowners. The short dialogue during this fight depends on if you previously talked to Tamara or not, in which case Graden will either thank you for arriving when you did or asking why the witcher is there.
=== A Not So Happy Reunion ===
After killing off this group, dialogue will play out, which will vary slightly if you talked to Tamara in Oxenfurt or not. If you did, she'll think you're there to take her back to her father, but if you never met she'll introduce herself. The dialogue will then change where she shows her obvious dislike of her father and Phillip will ask Geralt to explain to Tamara that he's there to find Anna. You can respond however you wish before Graden breaks into the conversation and the witch hunters search the buildings.
This part of the scene varies slightly if you saved the spirit after being given the task by the ealdorman, killed it, or saved it before being given the task. If the first, Anna has been transformed into a grave hag as punishment for the orphans disappearing while the other two choices will show Anna as herself but not there mentally, having gone mad from the loss of the children as they were taken by the Crones to be eaten. Regardless, Tamara will be distraught, asking what can be done. Before more can be said though, a monstrous howl is heard: the signal the Crones have sent something to attack them.
You have a short time before the attack, so prepare your signs, weapons, and such while you can. The wave will be several drowners and a couple water hags and, once the last one is down, a fiend will immediately appear. Once all are killed off, you'll gain 200. What follows next depends on Anna's condition.
=== Anna's Gone Mad ===
A small cutscene will play out where Phillip decides he'll take Anna to a mysterious hermit in the Blue Mountains with the hope that the hermit can cure Anna's addled mind. Tamara's determined to go with them, but Graden reminds her of her new obligations with the witch hunters, as the deal was to just find her mother. She then makes her father swear he'll take care of Anna and to let her know as soon as her mother is better before watching her father leave the swamps with Anna.
In this case, the quest ends here (300) and you receive your payment of 100 on the spot. However, you may still return to Crow's Perch and see the aftermath of the Bloody Baron leaving, plus a couple of events yielding a bit of extra .
=== Anna's a Grave Hag ===
Tamara will implore the witcher to help lift the curse but Geralt can't undo it without knowing what the curse was. However, Johnny may have seen something so it's time to find the godling again.
Travel to the map marker and kill some drowners and a water hag outside Johnny's burrow but after calling for Johnny to come out, it becomes apparent that Johnny isn't actually at home. Using your Witcher Senses, follow Johnny's tracks to a small camp where he's sleeping. When questioned, Johnny will tell Geralt all about the Crones' punishment towards Anna for letting the children escape. He'll then state that they took a lock of her hair and went down into the basement of the main building and shortly after Anna began screaming and turned into a monster. Johnny then begged the Crones to leave her be but they refused and wanted to punish Johnny for getting in their way, thus the monsters around his burrow. (50) Now return to the orphanage to tell the others what you found out, then make your way to the basement, whose door is located immediately to the right upon entering the building.
==== Pick a Doll ====
Climb down into the cellar and approach the altar and Graden will inform Geralt about magic involving the dolls with hair woven into them. However, it's ultimately up to you to pick one of the dolls:
* Doll with Red Bead - Anna wears a string of beads like this currently, as well as "half the women between Novigrad and Vengerberg"
* Doll with Bird Feathers - reminds Geralt of Philippa Eilhart, has no immediate connection to Anna
* Doll with Violet Hollyhock Bloom - the Baron mentioned that this was Anna's favorite flower
* Doll with Human Ear - probably one of the peasant's as Anna still has both ears
The correct choice is the Hollyhock bloom doll and picking this one will lift the curse and Anna will become human again. However, the Crones played one last trick: the curse was tied to her life and by lifting it, she'll die soon. She remarks that she's glad to see both her daughter and husband together, Phillip apologizes for everything he's done, and Anna asks Tamara to remember her from a time where they were happy before she dies.
However, if the wrong doll is chosen, Anna, still as a grave hag, will burst into flames and die. Tamara becomes angry at this and yells at both Geralt and her father while Graden remarks he's sure it could have been solved another way.
==== Go back to Crow's Perch ====
Whichever way Anna died, you receive 300 and Philip will tell Geralt to collect his payment at Crow's Perch. When you return there however, as you approach the keep a cutscene will occur and Geralt sees that Phillip hanged himself from the tree in the courtyard. Afterwards, you get your 100 from Sergeant Ardal, ending the quest.
=== The aftermath ===
Regardless of how events transpired (and even if the quest is already completed), the Sergeant takes over command of the Baron's men and they become even more merciless towards the peasants. The first time you return to the village part of Crow's Perch, you can encounter them robbing an old peasant (near the main gate) and forcing themselves on a girl (at a hut on the eastern side). You can intervene to protect the peasants and earn 15 for each case.
== Journal entry ==
:As you recall, the self-proclaimed baron of Velen had asked Geralt to find his missing family. And so, ever a man of his word, find them he did. Tamara, the baron's daughter, he found in Oxenfurt, where she had joined the witch hunters. As for Anna, the baron's wife, she had been kidnapped by the Crones and made their slave, in fulfillment of a bargain she had struck with them earlier. Hearing this, the baron swore to free Anna, with or without the witcher's help, and set off to the place in the bog where Geralt had seen his wife.
:If Geralt wandered too far away or didn't complete it:
::In the end, the baron had only his own men to help him in his task. Geralt must have decided he had already done plenty by finding Anna and didn't want any more to do with the Crones than was absolutely necessary.
::The witcher never saw the baron again. Perhaps the upstart lord of Velen died in the swamps while trying to find his wife - or perhaps he wanders there still to this day...
:If Geralt killed the Ghost in the Tree or spared it before being given the task:
::Geralt decided to help the baron and went with him into the bog. There they ran into unexpected company: Tamara, accompanied by a band of witch hunters, had also venture out in search of Anna.They joined forces and, in the end, Anna was found, but, sadly, her mind was lost for good. Driven near mad himself with grief, the baron swore he would take his addled wife away from Velen and search the whole world for someone able to help her. As for Tamara, she and the witch hunters returned to Novigrad.This is an error. In game, they went back to Oxenfurt. And then... well, dear reader, the ultimate fate of the baron and his family is a tale for another time.
:If Geralt spared the Ghost in the Tree after being tasked with it:
::Geralt decided to help the baron and ventured with him into the bog. There they happened upon unexpected company - Tamara and a band of witch hunters, who had also set out in search of Anna.They joined forces and found Anna, sadly turned into a terrible beast by a curse the Crones had cast. Geralt decided he would try to lift the curse and went to Johnny, the godling, for help.
::And Johnny, as always, proved very helpful indeed. He revealed to Geralt that the Crones worked their magic in the cellar of the hut with the tapestry. When Geralt and Graden descended down into it, they found a collection of dolls with various items attached to them. They tried to lift the curse by removing the doll that represented Anna, but their efforts ended in catastrophe - 
::If Geralt pick the wrong doll:
:::Anna burst into flames and died. Tamara returned to Oxenfurt following her mother's death, her spirits crushed. The baron, in no less foul a mood, went back to Crow's Perch. Geralt watched him walk away, wondering if he would ever see the man again.
::If Geralt picks the right doll:
:::Anna's curse was lifted, but she died soon afterwards, for the Crones had constructed it to leave death as its parting gift. Following her mother's death, Tamara returned to Oxenfurt, her spirits crushed. The baron, in no less foul a mood, went back to Crow's Perch. Geralt watched him walk away, wondering if he would ever see the man again.
::In the end, Geralt decided he would look in on the baron. When he reached Crow's Perch, he inquired after the man but was saddened to learn he was dead. The lord of Velen had hanged himself, ending his reign and his sorrow.
== Objectives ==
* Meet the baron in Downwarren.
* Go with the baron to the Crones' huts in the bog.
* Help the witch hunters fight the monsters.
* Prepare for a fight.
* Kill the fiend and the other monsters. (200)
* If Geralt saved the spirit after he was given the task:
** Visit Johnny to find out what happened to Anna.
** Use your Witcher Senses to find Johnny. (50)
** Tell the others what happened to Anna.
** Find the door to the hidden room.
** Enter the cave.
** Find out what happened to Anna.
** Talk to the baron.
== Videos ==
File:The Witcher 3 Fiend Boss Fight (Hard Mode)
== Gallery ==
Tw3 bloody baron anna alive.jpg|If Anna survived
Tw3 storyboard crookback bog 1.jpg|Storyboard concept art
Tw3 storyboard crookback bog 2.jpg|Storyboard concept art
Tw3 storyboard crookback bog 3.jpg|Storyboard concept art
== References ==
ar:عد إلى المستنقع الأحدب
pl:Powrót na Krzywuchowe Moczary
ru:Возвращение в Кривоуховы топи
uk:Повернення на Кривухові мочарі
Category:The Witcher 3 secondary quests