Talk:The Ghost in the Tree/@comment-78.17.247.109-20170903012600/@comment-47.20.137.147-20180808135617

That Spirit is the mother of the Crones and she became trapped there when they tried to kill her. The best they could do was trap her in that tree. And she destroyed that village because they had taken out a contract to have her destroyed by the witcher.

Downwarren was not a village of innocents. They were trading children, mostly war orphans but some of their own as well, for their safety and protection by the Crones. They deserved to die. And there are ways to ensure that Anna and the Baron survive. You just have to free the spirit before meeting the Crones, that way they won't blame Anna for the missing children and won't curse her.