While exploring the earth of The Witcher three: Wild Hunt , Geralt comes across multiple contracts. Each of these requires the role player to track down a monster and impale it. That said, some Witcher contracts aren't equally cut and dry as they seem. While a monster is always involved in these quests, at that place are some contracts wherein killing it isn't the only option, and the decision ultimately falls on Geralt. One instance of this is the "In the Middle of the Forest" quest in Skellige.

In the village of Fayrlund in The Witcher iii world, a man is expressionless, entangled in a clump of tree branches. Harald, an elder of the village, speaks of a Woodland Spirit. He says that the murdered villager is a sign that the Spirit is seeking revenge because Fayrlund has strayed from the "former paths." To this, Sven, a younger villager, retorts that the Spirit is cipher just a monster. Information technology doesn't care well-nigh the village or its way of life. Given the 2 sides, the player must make up one's mind how to bargain with the mysterious Woodland Spirit.

Killing the Malevolent Animal — Sven's Route

Geralt fights a leshen in The Witcher

Sven believes the Spirit is cypher more than than a monster, so he wants Geralt to kill information technology. Should the thespian opt for this option, the Witcher explains to Sven that they first demand to get rid of the villager that had been marked past the animate being as this will prevent it from coming dorsum to life in the woods. Upon hearing this, Sven immediately accuses the elders, even naming Harald specifically. Conspicuously, he disdains how much the older townsfolk revere the aboriginal leshen. When Geralt names his sweetheart as the marked one, Sven is taken aback but notwithstanding goes along with killing or banishing her.

With the marked one gone, Geralt can kill the ancient leshen. Though by the time he returns to the village, Sven and the other younger townsfolk take slaughtered the village elders. "You rid us of the beast, we rid ourselves of its accomplices," Sven tells the Witcher. Geralt and so receives his payment and the quest ends.

Appeasing the Woodland Spirit — Harald's Route

witcher 3 in the heart of the woods sacrifice leshen in background

Harald, on the other mitt, views the aboriginal leshen equally a benevolent entity that brings blessings to the village of Fayrlund. Despite Geralt's warnings that the Spirit is a unsafe sometime leshen, Harald is unfazed. The elder states that it was the Woodland Spirit that made them powerful, invincible warriors. It was also the Spirit that filled the forest with wild animals, ensured that their women gave birth to potent children, and made them the all-time hunters in Skellige. Thus, it would be a disservice to the village to kill it. Harald and so offers an alternative to killing the ancient leshen — undertaking an old hunting ritual.

Accomplishing this ritual would supposedly bring Fayrlund back to the "former ways" and appease the Spirit. Even equally Geralt considers this pick, he has his doubts on whether it volition piece of work as hinted by his dialogue lines. Notwithstanding, Harald sends him on his way to the altar. The ritual requires the player to collect 5 white wolf hearts and sacrifice them at an altar in the woods. Doing so will trigger a cutscene where, in one shot, the ancient leshen can be seen watching the Witcher from a altitude.

When Geralt returns to Harald, the elder will hand over his payment, and the player will be given ane last take a chance to caution Harald on what the aboriginal leshen is capable of. In doing and then, Geralt volition warn the elder that so long equally the aboriginal leshen resides in the wood, the killing will never end. Fifty-fifty so, Harald doesn't listen. Sven and visitor then show upward, announcing that they killed the rest of the elders and have come for Harald. The Witcher is then given ane concluding choice betwixt defending Harald or letting him be earlier the quest comes to a shut.

Choosing Between Two Evils in The Witcher iii

The Witcher 3 in the heart of the woods contract quest ancient leshen

What sets this Witcher contract apart from the rest is that information technology presents a compelling moral dilemma. The question of correct or wrong is a tricky i, equally both sides have their fair share of good points and clear faults.

On 1 mitt, Harald and the other hamlet elders want to stick to their old fashion of life. Alongside traditional hunting and gathering, these "one-time ways" as well entail the worship of the Woodland Spirit. No matter how much Geralt tries to warn Harald of the leshen's ability, the elder stubbornly refuses to pay heed to the Witcher. Instead, he chooses to believe that the Spirit is a force of good for the people of Fayrlund. Its mysterious rituals, later all, made them the best hunters on the isle, even though information technology toll the lives of some of the townsfolk.

In stark contrast, Sven and the younger townsfolk want to do abroad with the onetime traditions. They believe the village's worship of the ancient leshen is cool equally it is cypher but a monster. The supposed blessings that the fauna brings do not justify its killings. While this stance on its ain would seem like the sounder option amongst the two, the situation is muddied past how Sven chooses to achieve it. For Sven and his allies, the best style to move frontward was through mortality. Based on his deportment at the end of the quest, it's articulate that he had no intention of making any sort of compromise with the elders. Sven is a murderer — one who killed more in one day than the leshen ever had in years.

The question then becomes which is the lesser evil. Playes need to decide whether information technology would it exist better to try and appease a creature with questionable motives and go out an entire village to its mercy, or if it would information technology be better to kill it off and permit another murderer to spring forth in its wake. Whatsoever the player decides, in that location is no happy ending here.

In Andrzej Sapkowski'due south book The Last Wish, Geralt openly states, "Evil is Evil… If I'thousand to choose between one evil and another… I'd rather not choose at all." Yet in the quest, he does exactly this — cull ane evil over the other. In fact, the Witcher does this in many of the other quests in the game. Granted, player choice is a huge factor to consider, and it can be argued that it'southward non Geralt'due south pick, but instead, the histrion's. However, the Geralt of the game ultimately makes a determination and sticks with it. Despite not wanting to choose betwixt two evils, information technology seems Geralt still does so when push comes to shove. So much for Witcher neutrality.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is bachelor now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox Ane.

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