The Whispering Hillock

 is a main story quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The hillock for which the quest is named stands just outside the village of Downwarren and is dominated by a large tree. The choice Geralt makes in this quest will greatly influence not only the fate of the orphans but also the fate of the baron and his family, though the quest itself seems to have no direct relation to them at all.

Journal entry

 * Something about life in dreary backwoods settlements leads their inhabitants to hide the truth with misleading names. This takes the form of both hyperbole - a clump of bare trees called "Dragon Spike Forest" or a hole in the ground two paces deep named "The Chasm of Eternity" - and understatement - a horrid massacre calmly referred to as "the incident." Velen fit the mold in this regard, as Geralt learned while he wandered through it in search of Ciri. There he encountered a trio of highly suspicious magical sisters called the Ladies of the Wood, who directed him to a clump of bogside huts known as Downwarren. Geralt was to solve their "problem": a rash of mysterious murders. He spoke to the ealdorman and learned that the evil power behind the killings dwelled in the Whispering Hillock. Wherever else?

If Geralt believes the Ghost in the Tree:
 *  The truth hidden under the Whispering Hillock? A woman's spirit, imprisoned in a cave within it. Geralt felt sympathy for the ill-treated ghost and helped it enter the body of a horse, thus regaining its freedom.

If Geralt doesn't believe the Ghost in the Tree:
 * The truth hidden under the Whispering Hillock? A woman's spirit, imprisoned in a cave within it. Geralt concluded this foul being was responsible for murdering the inhabitants of Downwarren, and so destroyed its heart, loosening its last grasp on our world.

Characters

 * The Ghost in the Tree
 * Ealdorman (Downwarren)
 * Crones

Walkthrough

 * Find where the voice is coming from using your Witcher Senses
 * Speak to the spirit in the cave beneath the Whispering Hillock
 * If Geralt chooses to kill the Ghost in the Tree
 * Destroy the heart in the tree's roots
 * If Geralt chooses to spare the Ghost in the Tree
 * Find the bones of the spirit trapped beneath the Whispering Hillock
 * Calm a wild horse using the Axii Sign and mount it
 * Bring a black horse to the cave beneath the Whispering Hillock

Gallery
Der Flüsterhügel La Colline dolente La Collina dei Sussurri Szepczące Wzgórze